MUSIC . Reconsider Me

The Naturals

M.J. Fine does it again


	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Mar 27, 2007

Long before Gnarls Barkley broke, Jill Cunniff and her crew boosted an ex-Sixer power forward's name for their forward-thinking funk-pop hybrids. In the early '90s, New York's Luscious Jackson added an S to the first name of a '60s all-star player and brought some much-needed estrogen onto the Beastie Boys' turf. They took some shit for being white women who siphoned what they wanted from hip-hop while being true to themselves, but ultimately their freshness outweighed their novelty.

Luscious Jackson

Natural Ingredients

(Capitol)

Jill Cunniff

City Beach

(Militia)

Singer/bassist/guitarist Cunniff and singer/guitarist Gabby Glaser were largely on their own for the In Search of Manny EP, but drummer Kate Schellenbach and pianist Viv Trimble were locked in by LJ's first full-length, 1994's Natural Ingredients. Schellenbach had some cred for being in the original Beasties lineup, and she used it to free asses from that misogynist trip. "Strongman" and "Energy Sucker" are unabashedly feminist jams — funny how far the music lets you move when the lyrics aren't keeping you down — while "Surprise!" mixes Arabesque wails and a tight groove into a tough take on unexpected pregnancy.

When you just have to dance, "Citysong" fills the floor. When you need some one-on-one, "Here" sets the mood. When you want to remember someone, "Angel" finds light in the darkness. When you feel like wandering down to the playground and bashing the ballers' skulls with a bat, "Find Your Mind" chills you the fuck out.

Eight years after the last LJ LP, Cunniff has resurfaced with a solo album that drops the grit and holds on the chill grooves. "Exclusive" goes wild for monogamy and "Future Call" rocks with one foot in the '80s and the other in the aughts, but most of City Beach is easy, breezy and a bit bland. There's lots of lovin' in these songs, and it's all the domestic kind. The lush funk of "Eye Candy" and "Lazy Girls" is less suited to getting down than to soothing young'uns who first moved to Luscious Jackson in the womb.

And that's a natural market for her and her mates. Cunniff, Schellenbach and Trimble have four kids between them, and the old band recently got back together to record a children's record. They may be done thumping like "Pele Merengue," Natural Ingredients' drum workout, but if you get what you give, Luscious Jackson and soccer moms everywhere are due some love. (The hoop shooters are due a thumping of another sort entirely.)