Quite the finely-tuned dance-pop outfit are the Basement Jaxx these days. 5 albums in and expectations have been set pretty high for this new record, with an eye-catching list of collaborators promised over the last few months. What’s changed then?
As with seemingly all major British electronic producers who have been round for a while, dubstep shows its influence in their typically magpie-like sound. Opener Scars with Kelis, Meleka & Chipmunk is Timbaland-via-Croydon – commanding operatic samples chopped and filtered amongst the brooding beats. Raindrops, meanwhile,needs no introduction. To recap, it’s one of the year’s most innovative and joyous singles – mildly distorted vocals emit a deranged sort of euphoria, thanks to their shrieking, warbling quality, a tapestry of colourful sounds intricately interwoven underneath. It’s not to everyone’s tastes, but it’s a huge anthem round our ways.
Santigold goes wild on Saga, shrieking like a manic hyena over a ska-esque bouncer of a beat, which shoes that the Jaxx worked well to weave a bit of her musical DNA into the collaboration rather than just plonking her vocals onto a typically Jaxx-ish track. The fizzing acid electro of Twerk with all girl rap duo Yo Majesty is vintage Jaxx - all saucy, rowdy club beats and feisty vocals - while Yoko Ono makes for a random but successful co-op on the summery optimism of Day Of The Sunflowers (We March On).
Not all the collaborations are so successful though; Sam Sparro hook-up Feelings Gone feels cheap and overly-camp, leaving a bad taste in the mouth with its theatrical attitude and whiff of Ritzy cheese. What’s A Girl Got To Do? with Paloma Faith by contrast works very well, her soulful tones sounding resplendent over the energetic oompah beat – but it feels a bit much like we’re re-treading old ground.
When the Jaxx push the boat out and aim for something a bit more left-of-centre, the results can wildly vary. The surf-ballad mellowness of A Possiblity with Amp Fiddler is a bit of a beauty, sweet guitar licks gliding over slouching beats, and the minimal R&B of Stay Close is futuristic and uses electronics in a warm, organic fashion. The naff French crooning of Distractionz however, is better left alone – the lovely gamelan and strings spoilt by some vocal cheese.
All in all, it feels a bit like the Jaxx have an over-reliance on songs. Obviously they’ve had to succumb to mainstream pressure and also have obviously had a desire to move towards being “musicians” more than just dance music producers – but as they are the first to admit, they are still majorly influenced by underground club tracks. For example, they drop Fake Blood’s Mars and other bangers inbetween their own tracks in their live sets – so why not make a few more instrumentals or tracks which are more about vocal hooks than a slew of radio-friendly bits and pieces? There’s a balance to be struck, and it doesn’t feel like they’ve got it right here. It’s largely a good record, but the excitement of the earlier tracks doesn’t nearly carry through to the end. Back to the dancefloor just a touch more next time please lads...
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