Various
Lobo One
White Wabbit
Released by local indie label, White Wabbit Records, Lobo One (
Featuring material by 13 bands -- 11 from Taiwan, one from Hong Kong and one from Japan -- Lobo One does have its trashy moments, but on the whole it makes for a pretty interesting listen.
Much of the music is inoffensive. Unlike far too many local albums that deal in rancid variations of heavy rock, Lobo One features tunes by bands whose musical influences revolve around more pure forms of alt/indie/lo-fi rock.
The album gets off to an OK start and meanders in with the Saint Etienne-soaked tune 18 and Broken (
It's the Belle & Sebastian-like Whistle all Summer Long by Japan-based Miniskirt and James'Bomb D by Taiwan's Nipples, however, that really standout and which make Lobo One a worthwhile listen.
Morcheeba
Parts of the Process
WEA
Although still very much in business and currently working on a new studio album, a recent Morcheeba "Best Of," Parts of the Process, proves that even electronic music is far from dead and can have a whole lot of soul.
Debuting in 1996 with the trip-hop heavy Who Can You Trust?, Sky Edwards and Paul and Ross Godfrey expanded their repertoire in 1998 and released one of the greatest albums to come out of the late 1990s, Big Calm. The album blended electronica with soul, pop, lounge and reggae as well as jazz in stunning and unique ways.
Unlike Morcheeba's 2000 release, Fragments of Freedom, which was deserving of the panning it got, last year's Charango saw the combo returning to past glories and then some. Thankfully, Parts of the Process only contains three tunes from the combo's dire 2000 release.
Beginning with 1998's classic piece of electronic soul The Sea, the "Best Of" is packed with 18 of the trio's finest moments and brings listeners up to date with the inclusion of two previously unreleased tunes, What's Your Name and Can't Stand It, two numbers that prove Morcheeba still has soul as well as talent and the strength to pump-out some of the finest dance music around.
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