Bowery Electric - Lushlife

There are only a handful of bands that I really anticipate hearing what they'll do next and when I first heard Bowery Electric they were quickly added to that list. Over the course of three full length albums (including Lushlife), a few singles and a remix CD, they've experimented with their sound quite a bit - from the guitar driven spacescapes of their debut LP, to the drone'n'bass sounds of "Beat", and now with the trip-hop feeling "Lushlife". The beauty of Bowery Electric is that with each release they have been able to create an atmosphere that is very much their own even when some of the sounds they've employed aren't soley theirs. Having said that, I have encountered some Bowery Electric fans who have taken issue with the style change presented by "Lushlife"; claiming that it was too easy to incorporate a trip-hop vibe and make an album that could almost make a commercial impact. Ah, that's still not allowed, right? Well, I guess those people will just have to miss out on a really good album in order to maintain their myopic view of the music world. Now there's really no denying the similarity to Portishead on both the title track and "Floating World" - right down to the obligatory scratch at the intro - however, both tracks are done so well that it hardly matters that they aren't completely original sounding. A mellow, trip-hop vibe flows throughout almost the whole album, sounding much like a mix between "Beat" era Bowery Electric and Portishead. In fact, there is very little of the droney/spacey guitar sound here and instead strings, gentle synth tones and other electronic noises ride over Lawrence Chandler's programmed beats. Even the buried in the mix vocals are gone too and now Martha Schwendener's voice takes a central role in the songs. And Imust say, hearing her sing makes me want to light up a Dunhill and lie on the floor with my head between the speakers. Her vocals are somehow able to be somber without being depressing and they work perfectly with the mellow, beat driven music. Not all of the tracks are mellow though, as this album includes what must be their most upbeat/poppy track to date, "Freedom Fighter" (Ironic that folk legend Nick Drake gets credited on this track). Bowery Electric continue to experiment with their sound and I think they've delivered a great album once again. being able to clearly hear Martha Schwendener's voice might just be the real strong point of the album - and Im one who really like the buried in the mix, mumbling sound! I couldn't expect one to be blown away by this album; it's more of a swept away feeling. The perfect meditation music for those in need of respite from work and city-life.