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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aural Candy, April 26, 2001
This review is from: Lemonjelly.Ky (Audio CD)
From the sneering label on the cover ("if you already own [the] EPs there is NO REASON for you to buy this album") to the decadent packaging to the wonderfully tongue-in-cheek samples, "Lemonjelly.ky" is a delight from beginning to end. I picked it up on import last fall when it was selection of the month at Colette. I'm going to eschew the Air and Kruder & Dorfmeister comparisons (really, why do we lump all of the downtempo artists together?), and just call this downtempo with a quirky pop sensiblity, that is so distinctly English. "In The Bath" is truly soothing, while "Nervous Tension" is a delightful souffle of piano-infused lounge. "The Staunton Lick" takes a delightful pop hook and runs with it. Highlights for me in particular were the saccharine childishness of "His Majesty King Raam," the irresistible breakbeats and piano run in "Page One," and the gentle, touching "Come." Highly recommended.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
imminently charming cocktail tunes for the down time, April 29, 2001
This review is from: Lemonjelly.Ky (Audio CD)
What were British duo Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen thinking? They call themselves Lemon Jelly, register their website in whatever country owns the ky suffix just for the pun of it, and name their album the same. Then they blow all kinds of cash on glossy, hard-backed packaging and a color booklet, but leave their identity off the CD itself. Oh, and sticker it with a reminder if you own their EPs "there is no reason to buy this product." Unless of course, you're in the States, where vinyl mini-records and kitch-lounge rarely bubble to the surface. Our treat then, that this dreamy cut & paste weaving of mellow sonic sounds, tape loops, and record snippets (dashed with spoken word instructional guides) now hits home. Playing like a 1960's Mr. Scruff tribute band, or a folk group spinning cocktail tunes, songs `A Tune for Jack' and `Nervous Tension' remain imminently charming, as do the lullaby loops of `His Majesty King Raam' and starry-eyed acoustic closer `Come.' Like the middle of a donut, Lemonjelly.ky is all sugar. Wisely, much of their material relies on fanciful, sophisticated melodies rather than courting wit to carry the show. Of course, they could have stripped away the dialogue and revealed a straight-up chill-out album for every critic's fancy. Maybe the duo realize the tangy aftertaste lasts longer with your tongue pressed firmly in cheek. 4.5 stars
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have for lounge-lovers, December 10, 2000
This review is from: Lemonjelly.Ky (Audio CD)
Remember Bert Kaempfert? Well, believe it or not, but that's were this fabulous cd starts with... 'What do you do in the bath?' is the first question, followed by a mixture of Nana Mouskouri, hypnotized by a hypnotizer, a delightful dreamy but uptight rhytmn and a piano... Lemon Jelly mixes sounds from sea-elephants, loungy tunes and weird but always happy tunes. This cd makes a rainy day become sunny. Outstanding pieces are... 'In the bath', 'a tune for jack' that really lifts of when a baby joins the mambo. The song after the baby starts as if someone pulled the cord of a musicbox above his cradle. 'His majesty King Raam' is a lullaby we all want to fall asleep with... The staunton Lick is based on samples from a record called 'Teach yourself folk guitar'. Like the other songs, it plays with several samples merged into one great catchy rhytmn. To what you can compare this the best? Hmm, take the swing of Electrotwist, the humor of Mr. Scruff, the soundscapes from Kruder/Dorfmeister and the tempo of the Boys from Brazil. In other words, get this masterpiece if you haven't got any of their EP's yet.
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