New Basement Jaxx

The original is way better.

10 favorite things:

1. The slam bam crashing synths on Plug It In; the dive bomb drone synths on Cish Cash.
2. The way Good Luck goes from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds.
3. The great guitars throughout: the skanking guitar line that underpins Good Luck (reminds me of the Police somehow!); the solo on Supersonic; the breakdown into duelling Spanish guitar-stylee halfway through Lucky Star; the acoustic strumming that powers the last few tracks.
4. The way "Living Room" feels like a subway busking tune buffed up into a dance track.
5. Me'Shell's butch way of saying "I fancy you" on Right Spot, plus the shout out to "Delirious" (and the synth burble responds with an extra Princely tweak)
6. The dance tracks feel epic, but they're (almost) all under 5 minutes.
7. The wailing harmonicas on Supersonic; the extra sped-up cartoon vocal in the breakdown halfway through; "hole in the water now!"
8. The supercool cover, which almost makes me feel patriotic.
9. The stop-start herky-jerky horn riff on Hot 'n' Cold.
10. The B Jaxx's own vocals (which one sings?), great example of using an essentially weak voice to sound tender and affecting.

What is he, a really big 'Bullseye' fan, or something. The Jim Bowen rivival starts here!

OTM. People's citing "Plug It In" as indisputable evidence of Chasez's superiority is hugely opportunistic. Which isn't to say his performance isn't perfectly *fine*, but he isn't as nearly critical to his song in the way that Ndegéocello, Kekaula, Dizzee or Siouxsie are to theirs. (That said, given its hijacked chorus, "Plug It In" might be the least vocal-friendly track of the bunch...)

Listening to this is like sitting and trying to read a book in the park but you can't, because everything around you -- the birds, grass, trees, sun, the f*ckin' bench you're sitting on - is hopping, leaping, twittering at the same time. You're in Toon Town and you have to get the hell out.
I wish the Jaxx would regain their sense of space, because after a couple of listens I've had enough. Just too much.
And I'm not getting the Prince comparisons. "SFM" on ROOTY was waay Princier than anything on this joint.

At the moment, nothing on the album even approaches "Right Here's The Spot" or "Feels Like Home" in sheer amazing smack-you-in-the-face-while-rubbing-your-crotch goodness.

"Lucky Star" is a decent track, but so far nothing I've heard with Dizzee on it is as good as "I Luv U".

http://www.xlrecordings.com/basementjaxx/release/~kishkashcd/

(goes back under his rock)

You can hardly hear him? Are you kidding me? He's all over the song. You'd have to be deaf or lying to say that you can hardly hear him. He sings the verses. He sings the choruses. He ad-libs. Where exactly aren't you hearing him? The very few times the female singer sings?

Justin could be singing it and it would be the same? Don't be ridiculous. Justin couldn't sing like that if his life depended on it. JC's falsetto is a hell of lot stronger than Justin's. His range is broader and his voice is stronger. I'm laughing at the thought of Justin trying some of those screams JC does. JC totally trounces Justin vocally. He's simply a better singer.

It's funny how some of you are totally raving about the song while trying not give JC's vocals any credit for how good it sounds. Like any run of the mill singer (like Justin) could have pulled that off. Give credit where credit is due. Basement Jaxx did a wonderful job making the music and JC did a great job singing it.

By the way, one more thing before I go. It's CHASEZ not Chavez.

1. the synth crunch on the chorus
2. the vocoder in the breakdown before the final chorus
3. the opening synth blips
4. the drum break
5. the way the drum break sounds like it's splashing mercury in your face on the chorus
6. the fact that it really does sound like jonny l, but can't decide if it's the jonny l who made bliss-overdose rave or bear-fart techstep
7. the vocal