Disc Quicks

Bomb the Bass & Lali Puna

Clear Cut EP

(Morr Music)

What it is:

BTB’s hip-hopping Brit Tim Simenon teams up with German loop-poppers Lali Puna for some blissy, blistery breakbeating action.

What it sounds like:

Additional chilly, fractured remixes by Teutons Herrmann & Kleine and Dane Thomas Knak give this a rave-in-the-tape-hiss-factory feel.

The skinny:

Simenon and Lali Puna lay some amazingly moody groundwork for their pals to really deconstruct the shit out of.

Vanguard

(Epic)

What it is:

The somewhat long-awaited follow up to rock/soul/reggae/electronica-mashing Finley’s 1997 debut Maverick A Strike.

What it sounds like:

The plug-and-play approach to genre-crossing songwriting: There’s a reggae track, a rocking track, a calypso track…

The skinny:

Quaye is just as famous for his music as for supposedly being uncle to trip-hopper Tricky. But that might change real soon.

lemonjelly.ky

(XL Recordings)

What it is:

Niftily packaged CD compilation of three rare 10-inches from UK electro-duo Nick Franglen and Fred Deakin, a.k.a. Lemon Jelly.

What it sounds like:

Trippy album art, loping bassy tracks, synthetic strings and lyrical non-sequiturs recall Chi-town’s Tranquility Bass.

The skinny:

Listening is greatly enhanced by gazing at the psychedelic LJ screen savers available at www.lemonjelly.ky.

Blue

(Teenbeat)

What it is:

Solo debut from singer/songwriter/daughter of a country singer/classical pianist-turned-guitarist Shedd, once of the band Sella.

What it sounds like:

Shedd’s unconventional, slowly-wrought songs, aided by spare drumming, bass and piano, recall the work of Spent’s Annie Hayden, a lot.

The skinny:

File Blue under the burgeoning "urban folk" category with Damien Jurado, Hayden, Cat Power and Pedro The Lion. Quite good.

Crunch: Music to Sweat To

(TVT/Crunch)

What it is:

12 tracks of pumping, bumping electronica (Moby, AVH, Trickster) to get your heart pumping even if your workout isn’t.

What it sounds like:

Pretty much exactly what you’d hear if you went channel surfing at your local gym’s audio/cardio room.

The skinny:

If you can’t do better than this with your own CD burner, you’re in bad shape, and not the kind that going to the gym will help.