CD Reviews

Cibo Matto

Super Relax

(Warner)

If you don't already know how cool Cibo Matto is, it's time to get with the program. Super Relax is their latest release, and while it's being marketed as a "limited-edition" EP, it's really a single for "Sugar Water," one of the many great tracks off their 1996 debut album, Viva La Woman. But what a single it is. For starters it's got nine tracks.

(Well, there are four different mixes of "Sugar Water," but they're all really good. Besides, that still leaves five other unreleased tracks!)

Cibo Matto are Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda, two Japanese women who relocated to New York and decided to show us what hip-hop could be, (far- eastern style). They caused a huge media stir with their appearance in the states, and had no problem roping in a multitude of fans with their unique sound, sometimes mellow, sometimes hyper-energized, but always infectious. And Super Relax is a great sampler of that sound. Aside from the "Sugar Water" remixes, it features some rare and unreleased tracks, including the instrumental "Crumbs" from their original EP release, "Aguas de Marco" from the "Red Hot and Latin" compilation (which features Butter 08 collaborator Russell Simmins on vocals), and an unlikely, but charming, cover of the Rolling Stones "Sing This All Together."

Also featured is a live track, "Spoon," which contains so much raw energy and fun it'll make you thankful their tour is heading our way soon. Overall, Super Relax is a welcome treat for fans awaiting the next Cibo Matto album, as well as a great stepping-on point for new listeners who need to see what they've been missing.

-Doug Levy

Space

Spiders

(Universal)

I'd be lying if I said that Space are lame because they're unoriginal. Original they certainly are. This is probably the first band to combine the sounds of hip-hop, lounge music, and 70s kitsch. However, that doesn't change the fact that they are lame. Sure, their big hit "Female of the Species" is good for a laugh the first few times you hear it, but try listening to Spiders all the way through, and you'll see how annoying these guys really are. That's not to say that they aren't interesting. From a purely technical point of view, it's pretty amazing to see how the different elements of their songs come together. After all, not everyone can smoothly blend together steel drums, crooning vocals, thick guitar riffs, and record scratching. But most listeners aren't buying albums to admire the formulas behind them. They're buying them to enjoy some good music, and if you fit into that group, you're best off staying away.

The main problem with Space is that they seem to be going out of their way to be silly, to defy musical conventions and say, "Hey, look at us! We're so cool because we're taking the piss out of all those serious bands!"

Well, there's a big difference between making music that's fun, and music that's funny. Space really doesn't accomplish either, but the fact that it's obviously 'funny' they were going for just means they weren't even headed in the right direction to begin with. The only thing Space accomplish in trying to stand out from those "other" British bands is to make those bands look good.

-Doug Levy

David Bowie

Earthling

(Virgin)

It isn't that hard to believe that David Bowie is still releasing new albums today. What's hard to believe is how damn relevant he can be. After all, even die-hard Stones fans would be hard-pressed to defend Steel Wheels or Voodoo Lounge as ground-breaking efforts for the rock vets. Yet one listen to Bowie's latest release will make it extremely clear that this man is in no way stuck in the past. The first track (which also happens to be the first single) "Little Wonder" blasts you immediately with a driving jungle beat and a siren-like effect that recalls The Prodigy more than whatever you might expect. When Bowie's trademark vocals come in over the pounding, the synthesis is bizarre, and disconcerting at first, but somehow right.

The tracks on Earthling that aren't rooted in drum and bass still spring from keyboards, samples and programmed sounds, all of which we've heard before, but it's the way that Bowie is able to make these sounds and songs his own which makes them so good. It shouldn't come as any surprise after hearing this album that the man has been hanging out with, and praising the likes of, Tricky, Goldie and Trent Reznor. Or that there's three guys named Reeves, Zach and Mike who seem to be given a lot of recognition in the album booklet. After all, Bowie's not trying to pretend he thought up electronic music himself, or that he even knows all the intricacies of creating it. -Doug Levy

Aphex Twin

Richard D. James Album

(Sire)

Aphex Twin's The Richard D. James Album is the closest anyone's ever come to making a techno comedy album. Not that this isn't a serious collection of music - no one takes techno more seriously - but it's such an odd blend of utterly original tunes and eccentric self-parody that I caught myself laughing out loud with delight.

Aphex Twin's last album I Care Because You Do garnered Richard James (the man behind the name) much critical attention, something he hated intensely. Being the sort of artist who takes pride in sounding different from everyone else (including his own last album) this new collection of songs pushes his brand of techno even farther off the edge, deconstructing his media image as "techno boy wonder."

His riffs are often inhumanly fast, blazing along at hundreds of beats per minute. By separating his percussion-oriented sound so completely from human instruments or abilities he creates techno in its purest form - music that spins at the speed of thought. You can hear him thinking intensely about every note, hand-crafting his staccato phrasing down to the last thump.

Some songs are obviously meant to be funny, such as "Milkman" (the chorus goes "I would like some milk/ from the milkman's wife's tits"); others are so deadly serious (and fast) they'll leave you breathless. If you've never had your head or pelvis set spinning by Aphex Twin, check this one out - but make sure you buy I Care Because You Do to get the full effect.

-Michael Eilers