Notes from a Fiery Nest

I've had these for a little while, but haven't posted about them yet. (Remember what I said about being busy?)

By the way, the reason I so seldom write negative reviews is that I generally sample somewhere between 2 and 10 CD's at the store for each one I buy, and only write about the ones I buy. The ones I don't, I don't generally remember enough to write up.

• Tiga & Ajax--InTheMix.05: Two mixed CDs of techno, rave, house, and dance. This has somewhat of an old-school sound, remniscent of late 80's synthpop, hiphop and house, even though it's a quite recent set. Some folks are calling this genre as "electroclash"; we'll see if the label sticks. My main problem with it is that I think I should be in a warehouse somewhere on the outskirts of Montréal at 4 AM instead of in a fluo-lit office in Kanatonia.
• Stereo MC's--Deep Down & Dirty: British hip hop or house, with as gritty a sound as the album title suggests. ms_danson liked it when it was playing last week before the RPG session, and I'll admit to having tossed it on with her in mind. If I was in a warehouse with the previous discs, this one has me outside in the industrial wastelands around it.
• Hybrid--Y4K: A trance mix CD from one of my favorite groups in that genre. Great music, of course, plus a couple of titles that stand out independent of the actual music: Hi-Fi Bugs' "The Knife Drawer" (Ryeland Allison Edit), and Lee Burridge & Andy Page's "Why Are All The Pretty Ones Insane?" Moving uptown from the previous disc, now we're in a club that affects industrial chic, but actually has a license.
• Dirty Vegas--(self-titled): More Brit house, not quite as gritty as the Stereo MC's, particularly in the vocals and the production. Still credible, and there's more good stuff on the album than just the number 1 single, "Days Go By." Still at the same club, but definitely afterhours now.
• One Dove--morning dove white: Surprise surprise, a trip hop disc (well, you knew I had to have one!). Some of this got onto the radio, though: you may have heard the radio mixes of "white love" or "breakdown". As a result, they sometimes get classed as dance or synthpop, but I find their stuff a bit too downtempo for that designation. They've been compared to Saint Etienne, and I think it pretty much fits, except that One Dove come across a little darker. I guess I'm back in my living room now...