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ColdcutSound Mirrors Ninja Tune/Inertia It's only two months into 2006 and 'Sound Mirrors' has already got my vote for album of the year. Despite seven years between drinks Coldcut return to demonstrate that far from resting on their laurels, Matt Black and Jonathan Moore have been perfecting their art to the nth degree. It begins with the amazing single Everything Is Under Control featuring Mike Ladd and Jon "Blues Explosion" Spencer, a big and beautiful slamming beat fest with screaming guitars and potent vocals. True Skool features Ninja Tune prodigy Roots Manuva in a standout hip-hop, bouncy dancehall number that is a joy to listen to before Man In A Garage brings the tempo down, with a bluesy, broken beat journey through beautiful lyrics. Robert Owens lends his stunning voice to Walk A Mile, a fabulously powerful soulful ballad that rivals anything done by contemporary r'n'b singers Kayne West or John Legend, and Mr Nichols is a wonderful, wistful number featuring Saul Williams' brilliant poetry about the condition of modern urban man. The title track shows Coldcut still like to experiment with sound and space to create a hauntingly cinematic and somewhat psychotic instrumental piece, akin to UNKLEs dalliances with the weird. Boogieman returns us to the Jamaican riddim-influenced beat of True Skool, although far darker in tone. It is especially fun to listen to in headphones as the beats, rhythms and samples are expertly manipulated to scatter across your headspace. This Island Earth similarly features the Jamaican influenced beat before breaking down into a fabulous house inspired chorus, reminding us that Coldcut were responsible for classic 'girly house' acts such as Yazz and Lisa Stansfield. Just For The Kick is a storming club classic with a phat beat, not dissimilar in parts to New Order's Blue Monday, topped by an uncanny vocal by Annette Peacock. Aid Dealer shows Coldcut are as political as ever, serving up a stinging indictment against State-sponsored Aid agencies under which Coldcut's signature sound cuts from quickly across styles; as protest music it's up there with Jello Biafra's Every Home Is A Prison and Saul Williams' Not In Our Name. Ninja labelmate Fog contributes a nasally melancholic vocal over some wonderfully odd music full of theremin and whistling on Whistle And A Prayer, conjuring the ghost of They Might Be Giants or early Ween, until Colours The Soul ends the album on a gently psychedelic note, breezy and dreamy. It may seem a big call to say this is Coldcut's finest work, given that they've already achieved so much; but when the world's best producers outdo themselves with outstanding production on memorable tunes, "masterpiece" pretty much sums it up.  |
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