REVIEW: Boom Boom Satellites, Out Loud (Epic)
- Tim Mohr
The Boom Boom sound, beyond the obvious boom, is thick and dirty like the Lo Fidelity Allstars. Strangulated vocal snippets swirl in and out of a mix based on chugging basslines and Big Beat drum patterns.
"Batter The Jam No. 3" brings in jazz elements, including a lilting flute and a muted trumpet. The emphasis is still on scratching and bass, though, even as a fusion feel threatens to stall the track. "Limbo" is rockier, vocoderized vocals and Led Zeppelinesque breaks adding up to a beefy version of U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky." The Satellites throw in lots of seemingly disparate elements. The arrangements include dub echoes, vintage synth blips, guitars, jazz breaks, and horns.
Some of the tracks, like "Oneness," are a mess. They sound as if Urban Dance Squad had lost its sense of melody and professionalism. Others, like "Scatterin' Monkey" are fun, frantic breakbeat runs livened up with neat effects and a sense of zany enthusiasm. "Def" could be from an unreleased Lo Fidelity e.p., deftly combining rolling beats, rock elements, and nearly intelligible vocals.
Out Loud closes strong with three barnstormers. The woozy bassline in "Dub Me Crazy" sounds like the delicious sliding sample in Digital Underground's decade-old hit, "The Humpty Dance." But instead of Shock-G's camp rap, the Boom Booms lay on huge beats, filtered industrial mumblings, and technoid noises. "Dub Me Crazy" shows what the Boom Boom Satellites can really do - shake down a dancefloor - but which they seem reluctant to do elsewhere on the album.
