Crazy Itch Radio
Smashed up in a jam-packed stew, Basement Jaxx'sCrazy Itch Radiois an extravagant lesson in musical jollies. Rippling with R&B, kitchen-sink funk, and a litany of resourceful MCs, it's a concept record with a boy-meets-girl storyline that exists mostly as a prop for Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Burton's manic inventiveness. On Jaxx records likeRootyand even 2003'sKish Kash, house masterminds Masters at Work and Green Velvet were the most often-mentioned reference points, butRadioblows out the kind of easy genre-hopping more associated with Prince, along with a Parliament/Funkadelic-style theatricality. Despite how much is going on, the whole thing sounds impeccably smooth, even when Ratcliffe and Burton decide to toss a banjo into "Take Me Back to Your House," or flirt with ballads on "Lights Go Down" and "Keep Keep On." The record lacks a dance floor jam like their breakthrough "Rendez-Vu" orRooty's "Where's Your Head At" (though "Everybody" comes close), and the finale "U R On My Mind" wanders aimlessly. But wild ingenuity and the desire to stretch are qualities that threaten to keep Basement Jaxx relevant well into the next decade.--Matthew Cooke