Customer Reviews

Kish Kash

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Basement Jaxx is a duo I've always admired, but I never thought they totally deserved all the praise the press lavishes upon them. For sure, they released two really solid albums of jumpy, nervous disco featuring club anthems like "Romeo" and "Rendez-Vous." Are they pretty good? Yeah. But are they knock-me-out brilliant? Nah. However, the London duo's third outing, "Kish Kash," could be the disc that finally justifies the hype. I think it's their best album yet. This time around, the Jaxx rope in a slew of guest vocalists, and they all make great impressions on this disc. Like the songs on their predecessors "Rooty" and "Remedy," the grooves on "Kish Kash" bounce from edgy house to acid-dipped funk that recalls George Clinton and Prince. Meshell Ndegeocello makes two vocal appearances, the better of which is the sensual, clap-your-hands-together jam "Right Here's the Spot," while goth queen Siouxsie Sioux lends her vocals to the abrasive title track, a rush of punk energy Avril Lavinge and Pink would die for. JC Chasez of, ahem, NSYNC makes a near-unrecognizable appearance on the funky "Plug it In," while "Supersonic" (featuring Totlyn Jackson) is an out-there slab of electronica that also stands out. "Kish Kash" is, in my view, the duo's most consistent joint to date, and it easily eclipses their last two efforts. Grade: A-

Basement Jaxx loses control of this album in two major ways. First, the songs on Kish Kash are more wild than any of their previous work. You can tell they enjoyed the success of "Where's Your Head At", and have taken that concept to a whole new level here.

The first three songs on this album are great. "Good Luck" explodes in a typical Basement Jaxx way, practically dragging your feet out to the dance floor with it's disco styles. Hitting you right after is "Right Here's the Spot", a brilliant piece of funk/hip-hop. After one of their signature interludes, the Jaxx move into "Lucky Star", one of their best and most insane songs to date.

I have to admit, after hearing these songs I thought the Jaxx had made another 5-star album. But to my dismay, the rest of the album degenerates as the Jaxx seem to lose control of their own work. "Supersonic" sounds like an outtake from Fatboy Slim's last album. "Plug It In" is a decent song, but would have been much better if the backup singer had replaced JC Chasez. The music in "If I Ever Recover" is awesome, but the song is ruined by the horrible vocals. "Cish Cash" is another mediocre song, and seems out of place on this album. "Tonight" is an interesting song which at first reminds you of "Rendez-Vu", but heads off in a much slower direction.

Then the Jaxx restore our faith in them. Though "Hot N' Cold" is probably one of the simplest songs on the album, it saves the 2nd half with it's Neptunes-like beats. "Living Room" is another simple, yet effective song. The album then finishes with "Feels Like Home", a decent closer which unfortunately drags a little.

Compared to other house music, Basement Jaxx is still revolutionary and a cut above the rest. However, Kish Kash is not nearly as good as Rooty or Remedy. So I give this album 4 stars, but am disappointed because I know they can do better.

Basement Jaxx appeared on my recommended list several times and I finally yielded and bought their new "Kish Kash" CD. It's an excellent album. All the songs are catchy, enjoyable and with a good solid danceable beat. "Cish Cash" is my favorite track, and it's exquisite! The whole album strikes me as being very enjoyable party music and it would be at it's best played loudly in a room full of dancing people. Unfortunately, that's not the way I listen to music.

Perhaps it's just me, but I have difficulty listening to this CD. Basement Jaxx present a complex and cluttered soundscape. Too complex and cluttered, in my opinion. In places this disc sounds as if it was recorded in a crowded and noisy room, perhaps with a couple competing stereos off in the distance. In other places it sounds "fuzzy," as if I was trying to listen to my stereo through a foam-rubber room divider. In still other places I wonder if there's something wrong with my speakers, but my speakers are new and of reasonable quality and they sound perfectly good with other electronic CDs. I take it that Basement Jaxx have deliberately produced this cluttered and distorted soundscape, and some people might even prefer it that way. My aging ears have problems with it and I long for cleaner and clearer sound. Yet the songs are excellent, and everything comes together in perfect fashion on "Cish Cash."

This has to be one of the most baroque house albums I have ever heard. The songs are musically ornate and lyrically complex (and, at times, comical). I had never heard of Basement Jaxx prior to hearing the single "Cish Cash" but was instantly hooked. The songs are catchy without becoming tired from overplay. The best track is "Cish Cash", followed by "Tonight", "Living Room", and "If I Ever Recover". Don't be fooled by the samples from the first half of the CD -- they are sort of a bad prelude to the great tracks in the second half.

With their third outing, Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton have already created an instantly recognizable sound without ever losing that vision to experiment and cross boundaries.

Kish Kash, by their previous standards, is the most produced, but that has not stolen any of their creativity. Using a lot of big beats, electronic music, various instruments (harmonicas, guitars and keyboards) and several guest artists, the duo has managed to let their music shine without any of the thunder being stolen by anything or anyone else.

By employing the ever elusive Meshell Ndegeocello on Right Here's The Spot and Feels Like Home, Jaxx has created two funky little dance numbers that resonates.

Contiuning their trend of putting out some of the best first singles, they present to us Lucky Star which features label mate Dizzee Rascal. The single thrives on the Asian scales, interspersed with their trademark brand of thunderous house-meet-garage beats, resulting in an altogether delightful and refreshing experience.

Another gem is the deliciously superb Supersonic, featuring Totlyn Jackson, with its modern-retro sound that is spiced by with a slight western/country twank.

NSync luminary JC Chasez who just guested on BT's Emotional Technology also appears on Plug It In with equal effectiveness.

Another notable collaboration is with Siouxsie Sioux (Siouxsie and the Banshees) on 'Cish Cash' which is some sort of an equal to the thumping Where's Your Head At from Rooty.

Three albums on and no sign of a lapse of innovation, Basement Jaxx has presented a unique sound that's miles apart from anything you'll hear on radio these days.

The purpose of dance music, I think, is to turn you on. This CD turns me on. It makes my head spin and my booty shake. What's so cool about this CD is the way that every song sounds different, and yet, despite the army of guest vocalists, every song still sounds distinctly like Basement Jaxx. The opening track "Good Luck" features lyrics reminiscent of "I Will Survive", and yet the music turns it into a bona-fide dance epic. J.C. Chasez sounds even better on the liquidy "Plug It In" than he does on BT's "Force of Gravity", and MeShell Ndegeocello adds sultry vocals to both "Right Here's the Spot", a blatant carnal come-on, and "Feels Like Home", a seductive lullaby that closes the CD. If you like dance, pop, or R&B music, buy this album. You won't regret it.

One reviewer referred to this album as the "most outrageous party album of the year". Yeah. That's about right. But it fails to completely explain the excitement and sheer joy of this effort - an excitment that suggests the party was in fact, in the studio, and not in your filthy one-bedroom apartment.

Breaking boundaries and challenging those who consider "House" a dirty word, the London Duo cobble an impressive selection of guest artists into a rollicking, soulful run through current music. They've tweaked a former N'Sync member into a mesmerizing, hyperkinetic performance and managed to pull Me'Shell N'DegeOcello out of her booty-music insomnia and back to her funk roots. And, need we applaud the idea of dropping Siouxsie into a frenetic, swirling, psychedlic tornado of a song? It works. Like you wouldn't believe, it works.

There are a few dips that don't quite measure up to the work's intense hum, but overall, this can be considered one of the very best albums of the year. It roars and soars. Pick it up.

Basement Jaxx are a London DJ duo and since their 1999 debut release "Remedy", their CDs have featured consistently edgy and deep house/club sonic nuggets. "Kish Kash" is no exception, but this time they take their cue from the likes of Prince -- which is never a bad thing, since Prince has always been an artist known to experiment with his sound. The Jaxx do the same on Kish Kash and they come up with some mixed results.

One thing that keeps the Jaxx sound fresh is their revolving door of guest vocalists, and this works perfectly to showcase each track as individual masterpieces. "Right Here's the Spot" is a funk thump of a number with Me'Shell Ndgeocello lending her basso voice. "Good Luck" is a disco number by way of punk thanks to Lisa Kekaula's gravelly growl. Kish Kash also features such varied artists as JC Chasez ("Plug it In"), Dizzee Rascal ("Lucky Star"), and Siouxsie Soux ("Cish Cash").

Kish Kash works fantastically for all these reasons and for its genre-defying sound, but it can also work to its detriment. I can acknowledge them for the successful effort, but unfortunately, it didn't grab me like their previously hypnotizing and infectious work like "Remedy". I guess I like songs that have a little more structure in their lyrics. If there's no order in the likes of a chorus, bridge, etc, then the soundscape has to be the hook. Unfortunately some of the album's tracks were too experimental for me to grab onto. I realize it's unfair to compare their latest efforts with past works, but because I'm familiar with and in love with their previous projects, I can only give Kish Kash 3 stars; but make no mistake it's a rock solid CD.

Basement Jaxx continues to prove that when it comes to House music, they are in a class by themselves. Kish Kash sounds nothing like their previous two albums, Remedy and Rooty, but Kish Kash is evidence that Basement Jaxx will continue to take risks and come up with something unique.

The album is fusion of House, Rock, Techno, Hip-Hop, Pop, and Funk. In my opinion, all of the tracks stand out for their uniqueness. The best tracks are "Lucky Star", which features UK rap artist Dizzee Rascal and "Good Luck", featuring Lisa Kekaula. The two MeShell Ndegeocello songs are also very catchy. Basement Jaxx also did the unthinkable: They made a song featuring a member of N'Sync (J.C. Chavez) very listenable.

When Basement Jaxx comes out with their fourth U.S. release, I bet you that it will sound totally different from any of the other 3 albums. Kish Kash proves that Basement Jaxx are among the most talented artists in dance music.

I've been a fan of Basement Jaxx since hearing "Where's Your Head At" on the Tomb Raider soundtrack. Their albums "Remedy" and "Rooty" are two that get heavy rotation in my music collection, so I was happy to hear about the release of "Kish Kash."

With that as background, I have to admit that upon my first playing of "Kish Kash," I had a similar reaction to some of the other reviews here - slight disappointment. Not that I found it horrible, it was just quite different from their previous work. I make a point never to judge a record on the first listen, however, so I continued to play it. AN INTERESTING THING HAPPENED! With each listen, I began to enjoy and appreciate "Kish Kash" more and more. Maybe it takes a few listens for the grooves to really penetrate? LOL Whatever it is, I now count this album as among my favorites. Great for working out (mountain biking is what I do - perfect fit!), driving fast, parties, etc. "Plug It In" is my favorite track and J.C. Chasez is a surprisingly good vocalist - who knew? It's also very cool to hear Siouxsie Sioux again on the title track!

Anyway, if you enjoy the Jaxx and don't mind expanding your musical horizons a bit, I'm certain you'll love "Kish Kash" as much as I do...