REVIEW: Mocean Worker, Mixed Emotional Features (Palm Pictures)
- Patrick Carmosino
Mixed Emotional Features certainly is a mixed affair of jazz and techno-influenced electronica. The brainchild of jazz A&R maven/musician Adam Dorn, the album can only be the product of someone whose influences and musician credits cover such extremes as Everything But The Girl, Wally Badarou, Marcus Miller, Chaka Khan and Patrick Brunel. Such varied tastes often lead to way-too-varied sounding albums, but Dorn's sensibilities and sequencing give Mixed Emotional Features the flow of a nice modern jazz record. It certainly prevails upon a great thing both electronica and jazz projects share: that moods, not tunes, are the thing.
Although Mixed Emotional Features is generally a pleasant listening experience, the great jazz and electronica analysts (geeks) may not be too taken with Dorn's lack of commitment to any one form. Mixed Emotional Features shows him to be a dabbler to the nth degree, a veritable George Plimpton for the electronica set. The dark, trancey beats of the opener "Rene M." find him perhaps a bit too much on the Ben Watt "dark mellow" tip and leads one to think they are heading into familiar territory. I'm not sure much is there in that track to dispel that theory. More prominent as a suspect is the drum 'n' bass/jungle mix he employs on such tracks as "Detonator," "Jello Dart," "Mycroft," "Wonderland," "Times Of Danger" and "Boba Fett." Its formulaic style doesn't reach for the cutting edge heights and new be-bop agenda that makes characters such as Squarepusher, Cujo (Amon Tobin) and Plug so unique. However, these tunes, often given a unique pop sheen with spy chiller horn eruptions, pull themselves off nicely and accomplish the film-less soundtrack bit very well.
Highlights include the Mission Impossible-cum-salsaesque piano on "Jello Dart." Also a must to check out is the tense ploddings of the swing tribute "Counts, Dukes & Strays" (not too allusionary a title, is it?). Marrying the vibe of classic Basie and Ellington rousers with a melancholy Hal Willner-inspired clarinet line raises this above any stereotypical nostalgic bow and creates a nice, unique mix. Dorn's use of tense, rock steady trip-hop on "Heaven @ 12:07" is also a nice touch to the record's palate.
In a genre where certain records are getting over-hyped into uber existence, Mixed Emotional Features is a nice sleeper record. It will most likely be heard in hip stores, lounges and bistros and then unfortunately forgotten. Its importance, however, lies as a nice notch on the musical growth chart of one Adam Dorn.
