Thievery Corporation - Cosmic Game
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Free Music Notes for Cosmic Game
Free Music Review: Thieves in the Temple (so to speak)...
Hit: 5 Stars
Thievery Corp. could have just continued doing what they were doing and I'm sure I would have been happy with the results. Instead they made me happier by significantly expanding their musical outlook. The trademark synthesized atmospherics are still there; the dub-meets-psychedelic soundscape leaves little doubt that this is a Thievery Corp. album. Yet over the course of sixteen tracks I feel as if I've been taken on a spiritually-uplifting world tour, one that stimulates the mind (i.e., "temple"), the soul, and let's not forget the feet given the variety of dance rhythms laying a rock-solid foundation.
Without losing their identity -- in fact, there arguably may be some gains made in that respect -- T.C. weaves a stunning array of musical styles into their dreamy yet rhythmic approach. Dub reggae leads into Indian sounds, then some Afrobeat, then some sophisticated pop. Vocal tracks stand alongside instrumental ones. Sure, there are some big-name guests associated with alt.rock on board (e.g., ex-Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, Perry Farrell, The Flaming Lips). Yet all fit right in alongside world beat singers such as Patrick de Santos, Gunjan, Gigi Rezende, Sista Pat, and others, singing tracks in their native languages. At no point do any of the vocalists throw the album's momentum off-course, rather their unique voices add even more colors into the album's rainbow of sound. When all is said and done, Thievery Corp. have equalled or arguably bettered their prior projects. No doubt at the end of the year many including myself will look back and consider THE COSMIC GAME to be one of the year's best albums.
Free Music Review: BEAUTIFUL "DUB" TRIP INSIDE TO YOUR BRAIN!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
"The Cosmic Game" is a deep, smooth, and highly appealing "downbeat" workout which will delight to you in a perfect "DUB" TRIP inside to your brain. Rob Garza and Eric Hilton have pretty much stamped their trademark dub-meets-lounge sound throughout the "pop" world, and with considerable success. Reflecting last year's (2003) excellent mix CD ('The Outernational Sound'), this time around (studio album number four) the duo have expanded their sonic palate to tackle a more blatantly "pop" sound, albeit a supremely sophisticated one, and one that reflects their lush downbeat leanings.
Taking in everything from jazz funk to slick dancehall to rich bossa nova, and even lashings of psychedelic sounds, plus numerous vocal collaborators including the incredible The Flaming Lips, dancehall toaster Sleepy Wonder, the beautiful voice of Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell and David Byrne and the voice of Notch, featured on the Corporation's last album, takes a step deeper into the pocket by heavily buttering his toasts on "Amerimacka"; amazing song. The vocal contributor who leaves the most indelible mark is Gunjan, a superstar in India but virtually unknown to American audiences. She sings on four tracks and shines on all of them, especially the hauntingly beautiful "Shiva" and "Warning Shots," a cross-cultural track that artfully blends East Indian and Jamaican grooves.
Once again Thievery Corporation demonstrates a grandeur and stylistic prowess that remains all but peerless in today's saturated world of downtempo electronica.
Free Music Review: Cosmic Game takes you on a trip around the world and beyond
Hit: 5 Stars
Rob Garza and Eric Hilton stretch the boundaries of music on their latest effort Cosmic Game. The guys get some help from artists from different backgrounds. The result is a very pleasant album. David Byrne lends his musical talents on the track The Heart is A Lonely Hunter. This is also the title of a classic book. Bryne still has a wonderful quirky sounding voice on this song. I liked the reference to spaceships in this track and the theme of exploration. I also love the track Amerimacka featuring Jamerican singer Notch. It is a nice soulful track about a beautiful woman who has a hard life. Pela Janela is a sensual sounding Brazilian influenced track. I think this track is about stalking someone and the dark side of love. There is another Latin flavor on the track Ambicion Eterna which sounds really lively. There is a track with an awesome reggae beat entitled Wires and Watchtowers that is really excellent too. The Time We Lost Out Way is a very smooth laid back song featuring LouLou. I love the horns playing on this track. The sitar is an unique sounding instrument. I admire Thievery Corporation for exploring the beauty of it. I loved the track Doors of Perception featuring Gunjan. The sitar playing just hypnotizes you on this song. I really liked it. Cosmic Game takes you on a musical trip around the world and beyond. This is a very creative and ambitious CD from Thievery Corporation.Free Music Review: The infamous trip-hop/worldbeat duo make their best record yet! Barely a classic - most people will really like this album!
Hit: 5 Stars
Thievery Corporation is the infamous trip-hop duo who have, unfortunately, made some pretty mediocre albums in the past. "The Cosmic Game", however, is their true breakthrough and I think their most accessible and best album to date. The lead single "Warning Shots" was an excellent choice as it's easily the standout track (it's very very catchy and definitely appealing to most people). The grooves' style is recognizably Thievery Corporation (if you've heard any of their previous albums the musical style is exactly the same). No longer do the songs feel as cheesy and simple as they once did. The musicianship is actually pretty complex and interesting in many of the songs ("Sol Tapado", for example, has excellent drumming). Every track here is good-if-not-great, and there's even a nice little cameo by The Flaming Lips' singer on the first track. It's just barely a classic, but a classic nonetheless. The reason I give this "5" stars is because every song is great and different from basically every other band out there today (it sounds unique and original). Also, "Warning Shots" is just a great song. This is just a great album to groove to, even if it might not strike you at first (it also makes wonderful background music). Trip-hop, Thievery Corporation and, really, any music fan will probably like this album a lot! Highly recommended!
Highlights include:
the entire album!
Free Music Review: Loc-tite creativity...
Hit: 5 Stars
Having built a justifiably outstanding reputation for delivering beautifully produced downbeat music, Thievery Corporation move up a gear on the creativity stakes with "The Cosmic Game". Veering, sometimes wildly, between reggae/dub, cool latin, eastern raga, chill-out & electronica/dance this is not the "easy listening" option that several of their previous albums have been... more a broad sweep across very different musical styles held together by the loc-tite glue of superb production and their brilliantly keen eye for multi-layered, mind-etching "hooks". Featuring vocal contributions from a series of guest artists and with a darker, more challenging feel, the end result is difficult to categorise but is some way away from the cool club music that their reputation has been based upon.
So... if you're looking for more of the same, care is required. But, if you're into creative modern music then it's another five star outing... including, on the way, the stunningly exciting "Warning Shots" with its artillery barrage of reggae vocals and syncopated drum licks, David Byrne's typically "edgy" and insidiously catchy "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter", the beautiful "east meets west" atmospherics of "Doors of Perception" and the rolling laid-back dub of "Revolution Solution". Different and genuinely interesting this one's a real "grower".