New Sector Movements - Download This (CD)

All Music Guide

The inventiveness of the first couple New Sector Movements singles, released on People in the late '90s, doesn't escalate on IG Culture's first album under that name. Listeners who picked up those bold, ambitious tracks when they were initially dropped might be somewhat dismayed that Culture has more or less opted to stick with that sound a sound that, nonetheless, helped shape West London's loose community of likeminded producers on through the early 2000s. Throughout Download This, Culture surrounds himself with several of West London's finest session hands: Kaidi Taitham cowrites a handful of tracks and lends keyboards, Izzi Dunn contributes some strings, and the voices of Julie Dexter and Bembe Segue animate many of the productions. In spite of intricate drum programming from Culture, these players help give the album a live feel that will appeal to those who come to broken beat from an acid jazz of jazzfunk angle the spirit is much in line with the machinemanipulated records mad...e by people like Stevie Wonder, Roy Ayers, and Herbie Hancock during the '70s and '80s. "The Sun," featuring Frank McComb on vocals and keys, is the closest to an outright throwback, resembling a cover version of a missing song from the first side of Innervisions. Though the album is dotted by the occasional dud, listeners should dig deep, especially since the 11th slot holds the most charming moment. Arriving on an infectious stopstart bass line and keyboards that shoot sunrays, "Download This" is a showcase for acrobatic vocalist Eska, whose multitracked voice forms a deliciously complex arrangement. - Andy Kellman , All Music Guide Read more Less