Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash

A squiggly, delirious house-pop classic that’s easily among the best albums of 2003, this British production duo’s third album is an interesting parallel to Outkast’s Speakerboxxx, as both albums make their funk the P-Funk, Parliament and Prince looming large throughout, but always in innovative ways. No album (and it is an album, a satisfyingly cohesive and narrative whole) of any genre in recent memory has done the guest vocalist thing as perfectly or as eclectically. Meshell Ndegeocello delivers two of her finest and sexiest performances yet; Lisa Kekaula from garage-soul rockers the BellRays revs up her delicious, Tina Turner -y vocals to near bursting point on "Good Luck." Meanwhile, ‘N Sync's JC Chasez remakes himself as a sort of electro-punk Michael Jackson on "Plug It In"; and speaking of electro-punk, on the anthemic "Cish Cash," Siouxsie Soux herself returns to show all the Liquid Sky’d-out denizens of Williamsburg and Berlin what a postpunk diva really sounds like. This is joyous music as innovative as it is bootylicious. With all its genre-defying tricks, Kish clearly owes a debt to the millenarian bootleg craze, but these songs are more than novelty mash-ups, they’re songs, and this is an album you’ll play years from now. --Mike McGonigal Amazon.com

Love It

I use this album as a touchstone for other Basement Jaxx works since I am new to listening to them. I probaby say "touchstone" because "Kish Kash" seems to glue their entire catalog together with an eclectic mix of all-over-the-board ingenuity and verve. I saw them a few years back during an outdoor Summer concert in Downtown LA and they joined Beck and Red Kross as the most vibrant and exciting acts. Little by little I acquired some albums, singles, etc. and remembered where I had seen the main singer for the Jaxx: there is a little street in London that connects Tottenham Court Road with Gordon Square at the University College London, and along the sidewalk, the college placed some images of luminary alumni, one of which was Felix (Buxton). If I recall correctly, he was looking at the photographer and held a vinyl disc in hand. Even at the time I was thinking that it was 'cool' to have a popular musician as a sort of fellow student.

The album in my opinion is really really good. It contains everything from love, lust, hope and heartbreak on this, with the odd moral tale, (Cish Cash) if it can be called that. I think that artists mature when they get their hearts broken, and I certainly realize that "If I Ever Recover" is not a fan favorite based on cursory reading of reviews, but I can appreciate the pain--it's got to be tough to expose yourself like that--and Jaxx does it with class and raw emotion.

"Cish Cash" is fantastic...dunno what else to say. It's the Punx foil for the other gems. "Good Luck" is brilliant and the single actually cleaned-up [see their Singles album] the song's ending, I think much for the better. "Living Room" is my favorite song on the album because it both shows the Jaxx' plunge into songwriting territory and manages an inadvertent tip-of-the-hat to the Violent Femmes with its smart, tough sensibility. "Right Here's the Spot" by Meshell Ndegeocello is also an instant funk masterpiece, and the edgy "Supersonic," "Lucky Star," and "Plug It In" show how this band has moved into its own territory.

Since I'm new to this, Jaxx seem to me to be loudly confident without always knowing what they're doing, but trusting their instincts. They don't seem to want to overwork things, and in general that contributes to their success, but even here, I can't really pin them down. I look forward to each of their next works and would recommend this album for its freshness--it'll spin really well 100 years down the road--even 200 plus. February 12, 2008

Possibly not Their Best Album, But still incredibly Solid...

Nobody can deny Basement Jaxx's influence on the dance album scene, with two previously masterful albums behind them, could they replicate the magic a third time around?? Well if you're prepared to give this album more investment than the other two, then `Yes' this is as equally worthy, although it's probably not as instantly accessible as the previous two albums "Remedy" & "Rooty". Lead single "Right Here's the Spot" features `Me'Shell NdegeOcello's' soulful tones to elevate this track to greatness. Mercury prize winner `Dizzie Rascal' lays down his scattershot raps over the eastern strings of "Lucky Star" and proves that there is not only a great talent in this young rapper, but also Basement Jaxx's ability to get the best out of their collaborators. *NSyncs' JC Chasez, gets his groove on..in the exuberant "Plug it in", coming on like an even more sexed up version of "Justin Timberlake's" funkiest moves. But the personal fave track for me has to be `Siouxsie Sioux' retro-electro stomp of "Cish Cash" that is as accessible & as immediately imaginative as anything the Basements have recorded. Mixed in amongst this is the usual array of instrumentals and transitional tracks that always feature on Basement Jaxx albums. As always their albums sound better the louder the volume, and although this doesn't quite match the overall brilliance of "Remedy" and "Rooty" it's easily a required purchase if you loved their earlier albums, and although admittedly this is an album that won't deliver the immediacy and party-fuelled accessibility that "Remedy" or "Rooty" were so brilliant at delivering. Stick with it...as each listen revels an album with a depth & substance more acute than before, and therefore possibly something more likely to be returned to in the future. January 29, 2007

Kashing In

I must have been asleep at the wheel during the last quarter of 2003 music-wise, since I completely missed this album. Too bad for me, as this thing probably dropped like a bomb in the clubs. Come to think of it, I wasn't going out much then either, so I was indeed out of the loop entirely.

At any rate, if you don't own this one, run out right now and buy it! Go on! I'll wait... You can probably get it used for 1/2 the price now too, since this recommendation is so late in arriving.

The list of guest vocalists is as long as the track listing, but notable are:

-Meshell Ndegeocello (2 tracks)
-Siouxsie Sioux (where's she been since I was in high school?)
-Lisa Kekaula from BellRays
-J.C. Chasez from N'Sync (yeah, I know, but he's really good on this - I didn't even know it was him)

I wouldn't file this one under electronica exactly, but I'm not sure where else to put it. Some of it is definitely electronica in nature, but several tracks are decidedly funk, and some others defy classification at all. Yet somehow, all of these tracks work together as an album. I didn't skip anything, and I was kind of sad when the last track played out. July 12, 2006

All over the place and still has structure

I have always loves and respected Basement Jaxx for their continuing effort not to plug themselves into one sound. This album, Kish Kash is no acceptation. This album has a much stronger R&B/ Hip-Hop concentration than their deep house grooves of the past. Yet even with how chaotic the songs are, like a lot of jazz, they are amazingly held together and overly addictive.

No one will ever figure this band out, but why should we when they make amazing music like this!? February 22, 2006

GENIOUS - ELECTRONICA OUTSIDE OF THE BOX - 4.5 STARS

I have been a big fan of Basement Jaxx from the start. As soon as I heard "Rendez-Vu" from their debut album "Remedy", I was completely hooked. I only became more addicted to their independent left-of-center electronic sound when I saw them in 1999 at a rave/concert along with the Static Revenger, DJ Rap, and Moby. They completely stole the show, in my opinion. Though they are definitely DJ/electronica, they didn't hide behide a deck and offer the typical faceless, anti-organic sound that electronic can so often get bogged down in. Sure the computers and the decks were there, but so were they - with their live guitars and their live female vocalist. It was incredible.

Their subsequent album, Rooty, along with this (their third) album only cements their genious in my mind. Their sound is completely impossible to categorize - electronica is definitely the base, there in the background, but there on the surface is funk, pop, rock, even a little dash of r&b. The vocalists selected for the album are incredible - Lisa Kekaula, Me'shell N'degeocello, Siouxsie Sioux, Phoebe, Felix, Emily Olfield, and even JC Chasez doing his best Prince imitation. An odd mix, to be sure, but one that works with very few misses.

Check out the tracks "Good Luck", "Right Here's the Spot", "If I Ever Recover", "Kish Kash" (LOVE Siouxsie - the fact that they were able to procure this reclusive icon is a testament to their influence and the sway of their talent) "Tonight", "Hot and Cold", and "Feels Like Home" and you'll be hooked too.

December 12, 2005

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