Musica: 4hero, Tracey Thorn, Karizma - It's All Good

I previewed these albums earlier this year (with all sorts of lovey-dovey links and whatnots here) so now that they're out, are they any good?

4hero: Lush in all the right places, moving in its grandeur and up to par with their best work, "Play with the Changes" continues 4hero's exploration of earthly sensual grooves and warm orchestral compositions. Opening track "Morning Child" was the first single, now followed up by the anti-war protest song "The Awakening" featuring poet Ursula Rucker. The album sounds like running through grass with bare feet on a warm summer day, a flower stuck behind your ear and wind running through whatever's left of your hair. Love me some syncopated rhythms of "Sink or Swim (No Choice for Me)," the sensual break up song "Give In," and the sultry "Bed of Roses" with Jody Watley (previously featured on her sub par album "The Makeover"). Still, all those superlatives and I have to confess that the CD has not been on my high rotation list. I believe I-Tunes also have additional tracks on their album download which sucks for some of us who still buy CD's. Additional info on 4hero's MySpace page.

Tracey Thorn: To be sincere, aside from a great Martin Buttrick re-rub of lead single "It's All True," when the song was released in advance of the proper album it left me cold (ingenious video here) and made me think that Thorn's "Out of the Woods" would be a dud. A promised remake of the Pet Shop Boys "King's Cross" was left off the album and the supposed gay content of "A - Z" is not necessarily overt despite the obvious lyrical nods to Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy." Turns out it doesn't matter: The album is amazing!

It's so great to hear Tracey's voice once again. There is a great webiste in support of the album and, of course, a MySpace page where the highlight is Ms. Thorn's lovely (and often very funny) blog (which is how I know that Arjanwrites has an exclusive interview coming up on his blog).

Some have complained that the album doesn't break new ground but I beg to differ (what did they want, Tracey Thorn sings the Britney Spears catalogue?). Sometimes during her vocalist years for Everything But the Girl her voice seemed at the mercy of Ben Watt's musical explorations but - while there are some echoes of past EBTG work - she definitely seems in full control of the new album's semi-retro concept, the themes and the choice of collaborators.

Rightly, the Village Voice calls it "Sublimely nonchalant electro-pop majesty." Standout tracks: "Easy," the glittering "Falling off a log," "Grand Canyon" and the gorgeous "By Picadilly Station I Sat Down and Wept."

Karizma: I was pretty stunned when I walked into Virgin Records this week and found a single copy of "A Mind of Its Own." I've been trumpeting Baltimore's Kris Klayton ever since I saw him spin at Li'l Ray's annual Brooklyn Clubhouse Jamboree back in September not being aware then that, along with DJ Spen, he'd been part of The Basement Boys (the legendary house music producing team behind some of Crystal Water's early tracks, among others). Still, the launch of Karizma's first album seemed to be a low key push by most sings which is why I was so shocked Virgin even had a copy. I quickly snatched it up and now it won't leave my stereo or my headphones.

Sure, it probably won't be to everyone's taste, the least of it being that these are mostly instrumental dance tracks. They also don't necessarily have the production shine of the Tracey Thorn or 4hero albums but, in some ways, that in itself opens it up to try new rhythm textures and moods which truly opens the album up as the sound of the future of dance (along the lines of Dennis Ferrer's recently released masterpiece "The World As I See It").

If the annoying word of the year is "pitchy," I hope you won't be annoyed by the characterization of this new sound as "techy." Then again, Karizma himself names two of the tracks "Tech This Out, Pt. 2" and "All Teched Out."

The one mistep, "K.O.N.G.," is nearly unlisteneable. But the rest more than makes up for it and, as a bonus, CD buyers also get a code to download two additional Karizma tracks off the r2 records online page. I love, love, love this CD. Wanna know more? Check out Karizma's MySpace page or r2 records MySpace page. Stand out tracks: "T W Y St This" and the thirteen minute "The Damn Thing."

In New York, Karizma will make a special appearance at APT on April 17th and return for a headliner gig also at APT on May 10th.

Musica: Dennis Ferrer's World

After more than 15 years of production work and a raft of singles that have been tearing up the dance floors over the last few months, Dennis Ferrer has finally released his first long-player, "The World as I See It" (out this week on King Street in the US and Defected in the UK).

He joins a resurgent US-based deep house roster of up and coming producers and remixers that includes Jon Cutler, Karizma, Peven Everett, DJ Spen, DJ Spinna, Ms. Patty, Mr. V, Quentin Harris and others who are building on the soulful terrain of legends like Kerri Chandler, Derrick Carter, Masters at Work, Joe Claussel, Francois Kervorkian, Thick Dick (oops, I mean E-Smoove) and Jellybean Benitez.

Now, Ferrer has known chart success in the past, particularly with his remix of Fish Go Deep's "The Cure and the Cause" (probably the biggest house track of last year along with Ame's "Rej"). But this album certainly blows all that behind and is as persuasive a case for the renewed vibrancy of house music.

Do I expect that it will change the anemic commercial reception that house music gets in the States? I doubt it despite the fact that the best in the industry, at the moment, are all US-based. But when it comes down to basics, I'm not sure that King Street records has the resources to engineer the second coming.

Still, if you want to hear something else than the latest Gwen Stefani, James Blunt or Nickleback song, do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy. The Defected release has an extra disc of alternative takes and songs that the King Street release sadly omits.

Sure, a few of the songs here have already been making the dance compilation rounds and might be familiar to some: The big room vocals of "Church Lady," "Underground is My Home," and "Change the World," as well as the techier side of instrumental house as in "P 2 Da J," "Son of Raw," and the only track in the CD I'm not too crazy about, "Destination."

Then there are the sublime "How Do I Let Go" and "Run Free" featuring K.T. Brooks and the future classic "Touched the Sky" that just blows the whole thing into the stratosphere.

Keep in mind these are club tracks and that they're presented here in their full unmixed glory (which sometimes means long beat driven intros and outros to make them mix-friendly) but if you stick through the initial beats you'll probably find that once the proper track kicks in you'll never forget them.

Considering that I still haven't heard the new releases by Mr. V and Quentin Harris and that the new 4Hero album is coming up on the 28th, Dennis Ferrer has set a pretty high standard for house music this year (and it's only February!). But it's always great to listen to a house music producer make good on his promise when so many others have failed.

The best full length house CD since, I dare say, Thick Dick's "Tribal Seduction"