Roni Size and Reprazent
New Forms
(Mercury/Talkin' Loud)
For all the reviews that I read saying that this was the jungle album of the year, I thought that this 2-CD set would be a lot better. After giving it a listen, it lead me to reinterate a statement I had heard many times before; "Don't Believe The Hype." Although this album is pretty good, it is nowhere near the best 'electronica' album of the year. It does fairly successfully manage to blend drum and bass music and vocals into a mix that can be swallowed by the masses, but that doesn't neccessarily make it a winner.
One cool thing that the album uses a lot of is cool bass riffs. I'm not talking about lowrider car-rattling bass. Roni Size sounds more like he's interested in using an upright, and it gives the album an interesting sound. There's a lot of twang in it, and it helps makes songs like "Brown Paper Bag" into a winner. Unfortunately, the album doesn't go anywhere a lot of the time and the listener is left with too many repetitive songs that drone on for 8 minutes or more. If you want a real drum and bass treat, check out Squarepusher or U-ziq.
Rating: 6.5
