Rarely does a 10- second excerpt from a song impress me to the point that I wait impatiently for the album's U.S. release date. But this was exactly the case with Bran Van 3000. I heard the end of "Drinking in L.A." on New Year's Eve in Melbourne and promised myself a copy of Glee as soon as I found one. Because Bran Van 3000 was winning all kinds of awards in Australia and Canada at the time (including Best New Artist at Canada's Grammy- equivalent, the Juno Awards) the damn thing was sold out everywhere I looked, so I had to wait until someone decided to release it in the states to realize this dream. I'm pleased to announce that this record has lived up to all expectations.

BV3 are fronted by "Bran Man" James DiSalvio, a filmmaker- turned- DJ from Montreal. The BV3 concept is part audio and part visual, which this explains the band's current success on MTV. The songs on Glee were composed in parts, with DiSalvio setting up the samples and the talk- over monologue while other artists like Sara Johnson and Jayne Hill stopped by his studio and contributed their smooth and dreamy vocals to complete the sound. The band is a music "collective" made up of over 20 artists who collaborate with the core group of nine. Through DiSalvio's skillful combination of hip-hop and soul, Glee manages to convey the chaos which must have characterized those crowded recording sessions.

Glee really could be two separate records: one, a soulful, jazzy, and sometimes folky blend of female vocals over simple and strong acoustic guitars; the other, mad combinations of drum-n-bass, hip-hop beats and general noise. The latter works better when combined with the former, as it is on most of the tracks. Most songs tease the listener with their heavily rhythmic start, then cruise through a chewy, nougat center, closing with a fast- beat finale.

The first single "Drinking in L.A." isn't the best song on the record, but is an interesting look at disillusionment. Bran Van 3000 also manages a refreshing cover of "Cum on Feel the Noise"; but where the original Quiet Riot version tempts and dares the listener to enter a world of darkness, Bran Van's cover is surprisingly wide- open, inviting, and sincere. The cooler- than- ice track on the record is "Afrodiziak" which slinks along, seductively challenging the listener to prove the vocalist is not "the next Uncle Fester, another media molester." "Old School" begins as BV3's tribute to Will Smith's "Gettin Jiggy Wit It" and mutates into a spacy techno- hit that the Fresh Prince could only dream of producing.

But Glee's best moments come with "Rainshine" and "Everywhere," tracks which make the most of Johnson's and Hill's light vocals while balancing them out with commanding rock and roll riffs and beat- filled interludes. Those velvety lyrical lines are strikingly similar to those by a great band with DC roots, Licorice.

Glee stands to be one of the most original records of the year. The smooth sensual vocals combined with unpolished and ultra- calculated drum beats makes BV3 sleek where it needs to be and full- on where it wants to be.

-Aparna Mohan