The Baldwin Brothers - Return of the Golden Rhodes (CD)

All Music Guide

The Baldwin Brothers call their sound Junktronic and on Return of the Golden Rhodes they throw just about every style of dance floor friendly junk possible into their mix; house, hip hop, acid jazz, squelchy big beat, soul jazz and 70s soundtrack funk are just a few of the styles to be found jostling for breathing room. Add to this mashup of styles some turntable gymnastics, a load of wacky samples and an impressive guest list that includes Lisa Kekaula of Basement Jaxx, the Train from LoFidelity AllStars, sassy rapper Sarai and gloomy crooner Mark Lanegan and you have much the same formula they used on their first album to much the same mixed results. As on Cooking with Lasers, the standout tracks are the vocal features. Sarai's rap on A Matter of Time is hilarious and the tune is a frothy concoction worthy of DeeLite's first record, Lisa Kekaula emotes reasonably on the lovely melancholy groover Leave the Past Behind, the Train and Lanegan both drop some very manly and heavy vocals i...nto their features, giving the record a depth Cooking lacked. Only Julio Davi's rap on When My Brother Had a Datsun falls flat. The rest of the tracks are passable instrumental trifles, lacking in bite and soul but not altogether unpleasant. The group seems content to meander jazzily when there is no singer or song to bolster, treading far too close to smooth jazz on Go From There and Gravity Fone. You may find yourself zoning out during these tracks waiting for the next vocal and that's not a good sign. Return of the Golden Rhodes is far too uneven to be successful but the high points give fans of electronic pop with vocals a reason to tune in. - Tim Sendra , All Music Guide Read more Less