Customer Reviews

Stop the Panic

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would've never guessed that Luke Vibert, of Wagonchrist and Plug fame, would have ever collaborated with BJ Cole. Here we have a well known steel and pedal guitarist (BJ Cole) meshing his sound rather brillantly with Vibert's jungle/hip-hop style.

I honestly love everything about this album's concept. Who else could mesh Hawaiian sounds, odd R&B vocal sequences, honky tonk banjo playing, big beats, a trip-hop mellow feel, Indian music, and the list just keeps on going on and ON! Vibert manages to bring out his experimentalist nature by creating a hybrid of different genres. There is also a light twinge of jungle mixed deep into the rest of the album. Who would've thought? Stylistically, this album is the cream of the crop, meshing so many different genres into one final polished product. I have to admit, I was a bit leery when first purchasing this album. I really didn't know what exactly to expect from Vibert's past albums and with the knowledge of BJ Cole's style. I couldn't see how the two were going to mesh (I honestly thought they were going to collide).

In all actuality, this album really proved me wrong, by showing me to never form opinions based on genre classification. I'd suggest this to anyone who would want a diverse selection on ONE CD. Brilliant work on both Vibert and Cole's part, absolutely brilliant!

Oh wow...After one listen to this CD I was practically orgasmic. Just imagine the swoony sounds of a slide guitar drifting along the side of a beach, fused with the electricity of a phreaky basement British dance club. It will make you jump, it will make you sway, and as each new beat is introduced, it will take your breath away! Vibert's compositional layers are typically rich and complex, and the inclusion of Cole's dreamy guitar into the mix creates even more unexpected twists, leaving you feeling like you've left the planet...seriously...these guys are entering uncharted musical territory, and it's beautiful to know that yes, something new CAN be done...

Absoutly one of the most original and aweinspiring cds I have purchased in years. Vibert seamlessly blends samples from the four corners of the world over B.J Coles' beautiful slide guitar. I can listen to this cd a hundred times a day and its fresh every time. Summer grooves at their best.

Luke (Wagon Christ/Plug) Vibert collaborates with slide guitarist B.J. Cole on what turns out to be a very good record. While Cole brings a lot to the project, (to my ears anyway) this is Vibert's show. The final product is a fine, smooth blend of exotic, beat-oriented electronica and slide guitar that alternates nicely between groove and lounge without ever straying too far to either side. It can be hard to know what to expect from Vibert (apparently a victim of multiple personality disorder judging by his habit of never releasing two projects in a row under the same name) but this album follows nicely after his last record, Wagon Christ's Tally Ho. Although it's definately more laid back than Tally Ho was. The liner notes indicate that B.J. Cole was interested in collaborating with Vibert after hearing his album under the Plug name but don't expect the quirky, aggressive drum and bass patterns of that record here. It's also not nearly as spaced out as his previous releases under the name Luke Vibert on Mo'Wax Records. As of this writing, you can stream four full length tracks from the album at Astralwerk's website. Pleas e-mail me if you have any listening suggestions on B.J. Cole's other work.

Cole really adds a lot to Vibert's trademark chessy style funked up beats with the Hawaiian style steel guitar. Fly Hawaii is an excellent example of this. Vibert recommendations: Big Soup, and Wagon Christ's Tally Ho They are must buys. Oh yeah, and also Hard Normal Daddy by Squarepusher for more jazzy dnb.

This is the most brilliant cd i have ever bought.It`s summer all year long when you own this magnificent work of art. it`ll make you happy

The last album from the inimitable Luke Vibert (a.k.a. Wagon Christ & Plug), Tally-Ho!, was such an unexpected boon to my collection that for a while I held off on getting Stop the Panic, worrying that there was no way anyone, even a wunderkind of Vibert's caliber, could come up with something to equal the beautiful intensity of "Memory Towel," "Shimmering Haze," "Piano Playa Hata" and "Rendleshack." Fortunately, my own panic was baseless.

You have to admit, though, it seems an unlikely combination: Vibert's electronic freneticism with a live steel guitar thrown into the mix. One might assume that Vibert would allow the guitar to dominate and simply settle for building his beats around it. But someone assuming that would have to be unaware of Vibert's formidable abilities, of what a freaking genius the guy is. Instead he conjures his usual ecclectic stew, using Cole as a master chef would use a potent, exotic spice, exercising a judicious flair. After a teasing, folksy spoken intro by Cole--a track that would've come off as a lame joke from anyone else, yet, under Vibert's sure hand, becomes a catchy and tantalizing groove all its own--a wash of sci-fi foley takes us to "Swing Lite--Alright," in which Vibert and Cole hit the ground running, letting us know that it's on. The twanging slide guitar creates a synergy that takes Vibert's triphop to a whole new level, imbuing it with a mellow flavor perfectly reflected in the color of the album's sleeve, something between powder blue and steel. The result is so amazing that if Vibert decided to abandon his Wagon Christ persona and continue this sort of collaboration with Cole for the remainder of his career, I would really have no problem with it whatsoever.

"Dischordzilla," however, is puzzling, a non-descript and overlong lull which, if it had to make the album at all, should've been buried with the B-sides. The album pops into neutral for 4.5 minutes, but then comes "Start the Panic," and if you're not hooked at that point, you'd better check yourself for a pulse. This is the album's powerhouse, eerie yet energizing--Vibert's specialty, and he's never done it better than this. "Yo man check this out--check-check this out! Kick some more flavor ..." "Hipalong Hop" is a banjo-happy barnyard stomp in the vein of Aphex Twin's "Logan Rock Witch," while "Fly Hawaii" is a nearly indescribable trip: it sidewinds stealthily along the sand before soaring suddenly into the wild blue yonder, yet keeps one eye fastened firmly on the beach.

The clutch pops into neutral again with the so-so "This Stuff is Fresh," and things nearly coast to a halt with "Cheng Phooey." Okay, it's great that Cole's mastered the cheng and all; but Vibert, of all people, should've been able to figure out something more interesting to do with it than a lame pastiche of Orbital's "Semi-Detached." Actually, this track is how a lesser artist might've handled the whole entire album, and I suppose we're lucky that, for the most part, Vibert had more vision.

Then comes "Baby Steps" ... oh boy. How can I describe this? Improbably cloying at first listen, this track becomes incredibly catchy the more you hear it, then insanely catchy. And am I just some kind of sicko, or is there something almost subliminally erotic going on here? At the very least, you have to admit that Holly Penfield's baby-talk has a lavish sensuality. Then the groove level goes through the roof again with "Party Animal," four minutes of swaying bliss, which from this point on should become a staple for all luaus everywhere. Luke Vibert, we love you! Jimmy Buffett, eat your heart out.

The album plunges into its third nadir with "Nice Cave," which sounds like something that got cut from Moby's Play; and I don't know what "Watery Glass Planet (pt. 3)" is about, nor do I really want to know.

Things pick up at the end for "Songs of the Night Life," a clever, extended reprise of the intro (which, you will notice, includes the P-Wing foley from Super Mario Bros. 3). My advice is to program your CD player to play tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 13, hit the repeat button, and let Vibert and Cole take it from there. Oh, and a billowy Hawaiian shirt and an enormous thatched sun hat will help, too. Aloha.

I just got this CD and it's a lot of fun. I don't know where BJ Cole got the idea to work with luke vibert but, hey, it worked. The CD is and interesting blend of DrumNbass, hawaiian music, and general fun stuff. Swing lite-alright is my fave song on here.

Stop the Panic is part hip-hop, opera, underground, you name it! The beats are infectious and the pace is hectic. I found something different to tune into on each track. This is the CD to buy if you like to listen to music with just beats. Luke Vibert & BJ Cole are a funky dynamic duo!

If all of the tracks were as excellent as 'swing lite-alright" and "fly hawaii" this would have easily garnered 5 stars ,but, alas they aren't:(