“I love music,” the O’Jays once sang, “just as long as it’s groovin’.” Basement Jaxx take that credo to heart, expanding it to prove that anything they like can co-exist with their club-ready beats. “Just put a record on, maybe a country song,” sings Vula Malinga to a potential conquest on “Take Me Back to Your House,” over a plucking banjo that’s eventually met by a marching band’s drumline and ’70s-vintage disco strings. (None of which undercuts the song’s emotional fragility.) “Hey U” starts as epic Western-movie music before visiting a Bollywood soundstage with a klezmer band who’ve hitched a ride. And “Run 4 Cover” suggests prolonged exposure to Nortec Collective’s blend of traditional Mexican forms and techno. Best of all, none of this ever feels forced; it’s the soundtrack of a kicky tour demonstrating that all the world’s a dance floor.
Other Versions
- 14 Songs
- The Chemical Brothers
- Mark Ronson
- Orbital