City Delirious
City Deliriousis a complete smorgasbord of jazz, blues, hip-hop, and techno--at least four decades of musical influences--and Chef Lionrock (Justin Robertson) has earned his tenure as a DJ. The album is seamlessly divided into two vibes--the first half is a funked-out, jazzed-out, big-beat jam, and the second half is a loungy cool-down. The jazzy second track, "Rude Boy Rock," is a representative microcosm for the rest of the album. Giddy, quirky, and sexy, it scoots along in a madcap way and would have been a shoe-in candidate for the background music to a very special episode ofGilligan's Island. (Story line: James Bond surfs into the lagoon, has a few romps with Ginger, and spends the rest of the show trying not to get caught.) Robertson hails from Manchester, England, and tips his hat to the homestead by interjecting standard Happy Mondays/Soup Dragons-style Rasta-man samples over the top of the song.The rest of the album is jammed with everything from early-'80s "industrial-lite" to Rolling Stones blues riffs to non-threatening raps that fall somewhere between Young MC and PM Dawn to the most reptilian of after-hours lounge. Someone this inventive and musically informed could have easily thrown together a record that was overwhelming and incongruent. ButCity Deliriousis a sensationally tasteful buffet of rhythms, instruments, and influences--delicious from the first course to the last.--Beth Bessmer