Streetlight Records

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''Kish Kash'' is the third studio album by British house duo Basement Jaxx. It reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and won the Grammy for Best Electronic/Dance Album in 2005. - Wikipedia

No matter what the shifting trends of the music industry may be, Basement Jaxx somehow seem to find a way on every LP to tweak their sound and style to suit it. After all, ever since their debut LP Remedy dropped in 1999, Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe have kept their sound diverse enough with elements of soul, jazz, funk, R&B, hip-hop and new wave alongside their trademark house sound so that they could move in and out of each one without ever betraying their audience. Still, it's going to surprise a lot of people that on this one, they've dropped the house sound altogether to test their luck in the mainstream pop market. It's going to take a while to get used to, but take my word on it: this will grow on you.

Considering how hyperactive and dense Ratcliffe's production work is, what has been the Jaxx's strongest strength in the past at points proves to be their undoing. For instance, "Lucky Star," their collaboration with Mercury Prize winner and hotshot British MC Dizzee Rascal, has a great beat and melody, but is practically lost in the clutter until the latter half of the track. For that reason, starker and slower songs like the engaging "Hot'n'Cold" and the soothing album closer "Feels Like Home" (one of two tracks featuring Me'shell N'degeocello) work best for this new approach. But no matter what one might think overall, it's good to know that a group that can be this challenging can also be warm and sexy as well. Hell, I'd buy THAT for a dollar.