REVIEW: Basement Jaxx, Remedy (Astralwerks)
- Don Share
It's seldom admitted: many people don't know or want to know the difference between things like house and techno music. Maybe they don't go out dancing. Actually, I'm in that category. So, little did I know that Basement Jaxx are two guys from South London who've made a huge splash with their singles and dance mixes. Littler did I know that the people who were mightily impressed with what they now call the Jaxx's "older freestyle stuff" greatly anticipated this full-length release, and don't like it.
Why should you care? Simply put, the sounds on Remedy, whatever you want to call them ("punk garage," I'm told, not to be mistaken for, say the Ramones, by any means) are a whole lotta fun.
The album starts off, literally, with a bang on "Rendez-Vu," followed by, of all things, acoustic guitar strumming and vocodered Chipmunks-for-the-'90s vocals that would no doubt kick old Alvin's rodent butt. It turns out that your CD player wants to rendezvous with you! Heck, there are even real lyrics on some of this stuff, like "Yo-Yo," which, besides repeating "Yo" ten times, says, "You were a prophet from above/ Then you came and sucked my blood." Put that in your headphones and smoke it! Even better is "Jump n' Shout," with words that would make Lester Bangs do some dancing in his sainted grave: "Bwoy out a road fi wi name dem a call." Unbeatable, so to speak.
There are tiny interludes called, well, ludes: "Jaxxalude," "Jazzalude," and so on, which segue into things like the intensely reflective "Stop 4 Love," the bouncing silly-salsa of "Bingo Bango," and the extremely addictive "Same Old Show," which sports samples from both KRS-One and Selecter, as well as the best beeping on record since Pink Floyd's "Echoes." There's even some languid, intelligible soul music here, like "Being With U." Even the jaded might be tempted to say, "Wow."
Some tunes feature laughing, raucous male vocals, others extremely smooth female crooning, should you go in for either of those things. "Red Alert" is a particularly fine '70s funky groove thang -- not at all what you'd expect in this genre (or from the two geeky-looking white guys who, it must be revealed) are behind this enterprise.
Remedy is engrossing, entertaining, party-hardy and relaxing all at once, even to ears unfamiliar with this kind of music; its warmth and wit will make it appealing to strangers to the genre, and strange to aficionados. So here are the necessary warning labels: Previously existing fans, beware -- you might like to hold out for the inevitable remixes. Rockists out there -- don't expect guitars and drums, but get ready to update your party hats. It's good to defeat expectation, either way, isn't it? If you let it, Remedy will certainly cure your end-of-millennium anxiety.
