Hot Shots 2
Hot Shots IIcontinues the Beta Band's play with  epileptic beats and creepy melodies as they again rearrange a record  collection stocked with Pink Floyd, Talk Talk, the Beatles, and the  full Astralwerks catalog. A clipped toy piano inspires a shiver on "Al  Sharp" while the swirling synth of "Eclipse" recalls Brian Eno's  contribution to theTrainspottingsoundtrack (which the Beta  Band would have dominated were the movie made two years later). The  album's deep-bass sounds and obvious craft are arresting, but attempts  at the band's cleverness or playfulness expose seams that would best  remain hidden. The lyrics of "Eclipse" falter through a satirical  allegory of politics, concluding with "the people with the answers,"  "the people with the questions," and "the people with the books"  sitting down to "smoke a pizza pie." While almost every song contains  layers of crackling vinyl, laser, or toy-piano effects, it's only in  the closing hip-hop version ofHarry Nilsson's  "One" that the sounds neatly meld. Newcomers to the Beta Band should  start withThe Three E.P.'s, but  old fans will findHot Shots IIa better second full-length than  1999's self-titled release.--Sarah Sternau