Pros: Better than Fragments of Freedom. A few great some. Guest stars...
Cons: Not *quite* as impressive as the first two albums.
The Bottom Line: Charango is another impressive album from Morcheeba. The fact that the first two were so amazing makes this one less perfect, but then again not every album is perfect. Right?
So what. It took me like a month to actually receive Charango after pre-ordering it from Barnes and Noble. What’s my point? Well, after waiting for that insanely ridiculous amount of time I was pleased to find that at least the fourth Morcheeba album was worth the wait.
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Is it as good as Big Calm? Nope. As good as Who Can You Trust? No again. As good as Fragments of Freedom? Better, baby. Charango is in fact a high-quality album. Great by many artist’s standards, but in comparison to the earlier veritable masterpieces from Morcheeba there is some room for improvement.
Charango is in fact a combination of the dour, depressing, brilliant work on Big Calm and the upbeat, poppy leanings of Fragments of Freedom. Skye Edwards still boasts one of the coolest, calmest, and lovely voices in all of music. The Godfrey brothers continue to create and produce clean, complex, and ambitious music. It just seems that some of the songs are slightly lacking on a comparative scale.
Released to the world in mid-July 2002, Charango will never be on the Billboard charts. Morcheeba really doesn’t attract much fanfare aside from that awarded by critics. Rather, their following is small…although in Britain they are (according to what I’ve been told by my newly British sister) much more popular. In America, their four albums are undiscovered gems. I’m fortunate to have randomly purchased Fragments of Freedom and to have subsequently discovered that their previous two albums were supposed to be even better. Charango fits nicely into the band’s somewhat scant repertoire. It represents the trio’s continued efforts to grow and change.
Charango, despite aesthetically sounding more like Big Calm, does expound on one theme of Fragments of Freedom. Morcheeba as of recently has taken to exploring the world of hip hop. On the third album, the act made use of talents like Biz Markie, Mr. Complex, and Bahamadia. On Charango, Pace Won and Slick Rick both offer up their rhymes while Kurt Wagner (of similar band Lambchop) also makes a guest appearance. The combination of consumer friendly rap and Morcheeba’s exceptionally cool style of electronica fascinating. And when Skye’s distinctive voice is added to the mix, it’s difficult to not listen.
The U.S. release of Charango contains twelve tidy tracks produced by Peter Norris. Norris has worked on each of the four Morcheeba albums in addition to a few other, lesser known, artists and compilation albums. Judging by his production and programming with the British trio, he’s an exceedingly talented man. With that said, I can’t help but enjoy the vast majority of Charango. Though, I must note that a few of the songs are a bit lacking.
Slow Down, a haunting and lovely track, kicks off Charango with an understated bang. Skye’s vocals are uneasy and evocative while the jazz-influenced background music is multifaceted and captivating. Much of what I enjoy out Morcheeba is explored on Slow Down. I love the band’s use of Edwards. Her voice is an instrument more than it is just a conduit for lyrics. Her talent is evident throughout while the talent of the Godfrey brothers (Paul offers the beats while Russ plays the strings and keyboards) is round and radiant.
With that said, my favorite song is also the album’s first single (which I never, ever expect to hear on any local radio station). Otherwise seems to be much in the same vein as my favorite earlier Morcheeba songs. On first listen, the track simple. Driven by Skye’s at times modest and at times forceful voice. When the various stringed arrangements are injected, I find myself driven by the song’s melody and toe tapping rhythms. Otherwise is enchanting.
Aqualung is a decent track that picks up as it continues. It reminds me a bit of something from Bjork. There are other better songs on this album. Sao Paulo is also somewhat disappointing and boring. I enjoy the experiments that range from early on an almost Hawaiian feel to in the end a country western feel. But, it just doesn’t seem to have any real glue to hold the musical themes together.
I’m completely sucked in by the Pace Won produced and occasionally voiced title track, Charango. Beginning with an Asian feeling sound, adding a harpsichord, triangle, and various other instruments the song picks up and eventually becomes distinctively funky. And in my opinion, Morcheeba really sounds most “right” when they are interpreting hip hop.
Deconstructed and unpolished, What New York Couples Fight About sounds little like the rest of the album. Despite this lack of consistency, I do really enjoy the Kurt Wagner (of Lambchop) voiced track. It’s a clap-along, understated song. When Skye adds her alluring style to the song, it proves to be utterly perfect. Utterly lovely. Utterly appealing. If you’re thinking about buying Charango consider What New York Couples Fight About. Continuing in this same vein is Undress Me Now. Lovely and inviting, it’s difficult to not experience a certain amount of comfort and warmness when experiencing the 1970’s soul feel of the song.
Way Beyond is a simplistic, shining example of Morcheeba at their very best. The song is perfect, lovely, and stylish. It suits Skye’s talents perfectly. With a muted trumpet somehow perfectly complimented by electronica, a keyboard, and a reliable mid-tempo, Way Beyond is certainly one of the very best songs on the album and one of the most resonant in the band’s outstanding catalog.
And the all hell breaks loose with the Morcheeba/Slick Rick ninth track…Women Lose Weight. The song isn’t in the least bit politically correct. Morcheeba takes the idea of media beauty and blows it all out of whack. Slick Rick raps in depth about his overweight, overeating wife and how he had to kill her as a result. It’s certainly a parody and too darned entertaining for it’s own good. And, in the end, the story goes that Slick Rick’s character decides that he really didn’t have to kill his wife. It’s difficult to not listen to Women Lose Weight. Regardless of your feelings about the title and subsequent material highlighted in the song, you’ll certainly find yourself loving the beats and rap in general.
Pace Won once again makes an appearance on the overall decent (not perfect) track Get Along. He combines his talents neatly with those of the Godfrey brothers and even more importantly those of Skye. The production and distinctive hip hop characteristics of the track are innovative, lovely, smooth, and constructive. Get Along represents a truly lovely Morcheeba track.
The final two tracks, Public Displays of Affection and The Great London Traffic Warden massacre are equally intoxicating. Morcheeba’s lovely, lovable, shiny, and amazing hip hop, electronica, and pop mixture come together with great care and appeal in both cases. Seriously…this album might not be absolutely perfect (very few are), but it’s definitely worth many listens from beginning to end.
I really do enjoy Charango. If it weren’t for those darned pesky first two marvelous albums, this one would certainly be worth five stars. But, both Who Can You Trust? and Big Calm left me wanting more flawless tracks. I’m forced to thus compare Charango to those, therefore it comes up short. Not much short keep in mind, but enough to leave me the tiniest bit disappointed.
When it comes to exploring Morcheeba, I suggest you buy their albums in a chronological order. Watch them grow, develop, create, and come to terms with their obvious love for hip hop. Charango is a great album worth, as I’ve already mentioned, 4/5 stars (probably more if you are yet to hear the rest of ‘em). If you are keen on other acts like Sneaker Pimps, Stereolab, Massive Attack, and Everything But The Girl you’ll most definitely enjoy Charango and Morcheeba. If you’re just beginning your trip into trip-hop (there. I said it) and thusly electronica, anything from Morcheeba is a great place to start.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
1. Slow Down
2. Otherwise
3. Aqualung
4. Sao Paulo
5. Charango
6. What New York Couples Fight About
7. Undress Me Now
8. Way Beyond
9. Women Lose Weight
10. Get Along
11. Public Displays of Affection
12. The Great London Traffic Warden Massacre
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