New Basement Jaxx

I saw them DJ in London last November, it was very very terrible :(

^^^^ further proof that london clubs & london clubbers = not very good

possibly true! I was afraid they were catering the awfulness to the over-designed cocktail bar crowd, but the first half-hour was incessant trebly blog-house, ADD-mixed into something else every 90 seconds. even their own Roxanne Shante collab was in distorted-treble remix form.

a couple of times they played the intro to some non-b.h. track, eg. um something Prince that I can't remember, and the crowd would get excited and start waving their hands and attempting to dance, but then it would go back to WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP SQUELCCCCH and the sardines would go back to holding their drinks at chin height and attempting to squeeze their shoulders past each others. then I left.

waving their hands, attempting to dance = LOL europe

nah, cos there wasn't room to move feet or knees. or hips. or elbows.

club was a converted hamburger joint - trufax

http://www.zshare.net/audio/1357846205ef6f6a/

OMG LEGITIMATE BUMP

is anybody talking about the new album on ILM yet?
Love the cover art.
I like Raindrops! http://www.4shared.com/file/104151866/3dfbf8fb/Raindrops.html

Not a huge fan of Raindrops myself, maybe it'll grow on me. Looking forward to seeing them at Big Chill in August.

looking forward to the tune with kele i heard *18 months ago*. if it's on the album mind.

I think "Raindrops" is a bag of sick, a really fucking stupid song that is a subpar recycling of previous Basement Jaxx hits.

Great! I like it!

I dunno, Dan. I'm loving "raindrops" more than anything off their last album. I dig the subtle use of AutoTune (sounds like it at least) and the chorus is nothing if not hyper-elevating. The final "I 'll follow you" coo-cooing could've been left out, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r6FhwCxjUc

^ not as bad as him live with them earlier in the year, kinda bearable, but seriously guys wtf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKHlh2UNiew&feature=related

This is actually kind of good...?

i hated Raindrops first listen, and i still think the vocalist is terrible (not that i'd expect anything less from a BJ single), but it has grown on me tons--still kind of retarded, but in a lovable way. listening to the other new songs i think it's going to be the same deal

weirdly enough the b-side of 'raindrops' was really excellent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghsq9PnHGRg

i have my suspicions about the presence of sam sparro but excited about the santogold one. both can wait until i don't have a head cold.

Enjoying this hugely. The Yoko Ono track is the first time I've heard a vocalist manage to match B.Jaxx for turn-on-a-dime maximalism, and the Kelis track is a nice reminder of Kaleidescope/Wanderland/etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NFk3bavv64

okay this is more like what I wanted to hear

Didn't think much of it at first but "Raindrops" keeps popping up in my mind multiple times a day.

dont get how raindrops can be a 'grower' -- its so pretty. i mean if yr not over them not making strict dancefloor music at THIS point .... i guess it wasnt that weird of a song

I might agree with that point if I thought "Raindrops" was pretty. I think both "Hey You" and "Take Me Back To Your House" off CIR are much much much much MUCH better.

??? 'raindrops' strikes me much more as a kind of ham-fisted, weary attempt to make a strict dancefloor banger, don't get any sense of even attempted prettiness from it. god, even its basic melody is so tedious and tired.

there's some good stuff on the album (tho), 'scars' with kelis, meleka and chipmunk in particular.

Uk Wuk! Promo copy finally! Cracking now!

This has been on Luisterpaal for a little while but I've honestly been afraid to listen. Crazy Itch Radio did little or nothing for me, and while I love "Raindrops" that is a deeply troubling set of guest vocalists.

WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE 'LUDES

I like this a lot more than Crazy Itch Radio.

The Yoko Ono track is the first time I've heard a vocalist manage to match B.Jaxx for turn-on-a-dime maximalism, and the Kelis track is a nice reminder of Kaleidescope/Wanderland/etc.

― etc, Monday, August 10, 2009 2:34 PM Bookmark

"Supersonic"! The Yoko track is complete insanity, but let us not forget that one.

I didn't like this very much when I listened :-(

yah same -- i only listened once & like nothing was grabbing me ... kinda think matt p's review was almost too generous to it, out of obligation

do still love raindrops tho

Interestingly, I feel like they're still pushing themselves, still trying to screw their fizzy hysteria tighter and tighter, but it long ago passed the point ("Supersonic", basically) where anything of actual value would be achieved by this.

They seem pretty disinterested in crafting actually good dancefloor grooves now.

I keep lolling at the cell phone ad that uses "Raindrops" whenever it comes on.

"Supersonic" only works for me when played at deafening volume on headphones; generally when the Jaxx goes into abstract groove territory, I like it a lot more when they go more minimal, a la "Fly Life". Otherwise I really like their take on pop music, which is why I ended up liking Crazy Itch Radio so much despite hating "Hush Boy" ("Take Me Back To Your House" is a top-ten Jaxx track for me).

haha why on earth did you hate 'hush boy' out of curiosity?

This new one is terrible. The best track is the "Sleep Walk" homage, and that's a problem.

And, yeah, "Take Me Back" is the only thing from their last album that's survived on my iPod.

haha why on earth did you hate 'hush boy' out of curiosity?

The Grover voice on the chorus is deeply irritating and the general vibe of the track is too staid to be funky enough to overcome that irritation.

Yeah, "Hush Boy" is awful. Hate the vocals, music isn't anywhere near interesting enough to overcome that.

(haha actually if "Supersonic" had a memorable snare in the beat I would probably dig it a lot more)

u guys are weirdos .... & there are a bunch of good tracks on that lp .... but whatever i guess this has been gone over before

The Grover Fozzie voice on the chorus is deeply irritating excellent

really love Supersonic too

i think the best track on Scars is probably one of those mellower Latin/Brazilian-sounding ones at the end - can't get excited about the Kelis and Santigold contribs much at all

I like "Hush Boy" much more than the overly cutesy "Take Me Back To Your House", though it did take me a while to warm fully to the former after previous 1st singles had been so startling.

Like Scars a lot more than I thought I would, but this and Crazy Itch strike me much more as straight pop albums than dance albums. Not at all a bad thing, but there's something about it that feels funny.

Sam Sparro's vocals are annoying on Feelings Gone.

Sam Sparro is annoying? Gee golly whiz.

Well, I enjoyed his album, so I don't typically find him annoying.

This album is pretty ropey stuff - why on earth would you go to all the trouble of getting Kelis on a track and then give her something that weedy to work with?

count me in as another baffled crazy itch lover - this album is beyond dismal though.

I also love the Robyn track on CIR, esp. the part where it breaks down with the slow horns and ramps back up all klezmery and awesome.