Deeper than a mole’s stiffie, the echoes of classic New York house and contemporary electronic groove dismemberment runs riot in this latest excursion from Lee, who impressed last year as the force behind MyMy’s amazing Songs from The Gentle album before unleashing a welter of solo tackle on Aus Music and Just. Until 2002 he lived in London, creating nu-jazz chill-outings as Hefner but moving to Berlin had the inevitable effect of plugging him into the city’s remarkable electronic revolution of the 21st century. The myriad influences and undoubtedly countless eye-popping nights have taken their toll to delirious effect: his solo album is a pure delight from start to finish. Tracks like ‘Roadwork’ and ‘Kinder Country’ recall the NY house groove with deep pads and a special warmth of their own while ‘Shoe Shine’ brings in John Barry guitar. There’s even a track called ‘White Rabbit’ which had my furry friend Strummer hopping in the air then kicking his legs, although it might have been the rabbit drops. Lee has another animal story called ‘Safari’ which follows Mental Overdrive’s placement of glorious elephant trumpeting over a barrage of woodwind, brass and hustling groove. ‘MDMazing’ speaks for itself whipping up a lovely swirling deep house bubblebath confirming that the listener definitely comes out of this album a lot happier than when they went in.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
