BASEMENT JAXX: POST-MODERN PIRATES

They may not wear eye-patches or brandish cutlasses, but Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe are definitely pirates. Just listen to Scars, their fifth album as Basement Jaxx. You can almost hear them cackling deviously in the background as they pillage the contemporary popscape, gleefully grabbing at '90s-style filtered bass-lines, dirty UK grime
riddims, coruscating pop hooks--anything that takes their fancy.

The duo have displayed this magpie quality ever since they released "Remedy", their lauded debut, which brazenly poached from Latin, electro, soul, hip-hop, ragga and house to create something determinedly carnivalesque. They've grown increasingly bold, throwing in raucous guitar solos ("Supersonic"); creating micro genres such as punk-house ("Where's Your Head At?") and banjo-house ("Take Me Back To Your House") and experimenting with more obscure music forms such as gypsy and klezmer ("Hey You"). Amazingly, it always seems to work.

By now we rightly expect every Basement Jaxx album to be a party, and Scars is no disappointment. It exudes all the kaleidoscopic flamboyance and state-of-the-art nowness of previous albums, such as Kish Kash and Crazy Itch Radio, as well as a reliably wide array of guests, including Yoko Ono, Santigold, Devonte Hynes (aka, Lightspeed Champion) and electro-rappers Yo Majesty!

The digital stutters and mad, wheeling strings of the opening track, "Scars", give more than a passing nod to Timbaland and make for a dramatic start. The clinical, aloof production thawed slightly by a lip-curling chorus, courtesy of Kelis, an R&B star, and rhymes from grime MC Chipmunk. The album's first single, "Raindrops", enters more familiar terrain--a slice of soaring, sun-dappled house with euphoric vocals from Buxton himself. The fiesta continues with the feel-good rumble of "She's No Good" (with superb vocals from Eli "Paperboy" Reed), the bouncy digi-ska of "Saga" (featuring Santigold) and dance-floor behemoth "Feelings Gone".

All the while the Jaxx remain in thrall to their own eclecticism. They even raid their own archives, suturing self-referential whoops, whistles and vocal snippets into the album's colourful tapestry, most notably on the jerk-house tune "Twerk", which is essentially Remedy's "Jump & Shout" with Yo Majesty!'s ragga vocals replacing those of Slarta John. There are still plenty of surprises: the folksy and autumnal "My Turn" (with LightSpeed Champion), the quirky strut of "Day of the Sunflowers" (featuring Yoko Ono) and the languorous glockenspiel-laden "D.I.S.tractionz", which sounds like Air jamming with Zero 7 and the Cinematic Orchestra.

Overall, Scars is as exuberant and enjoyable as anything by Basement Jaxx--the classic sound of dance music's favourite post-modern pirates sharing--and shaking--their booty.

"Scars" (Phantom Sound & Vision) by Basement Jaxx, out now

~ PAUL SULLIVAN

PIcture Credit: alexy.const ((via Flickr)