(XL/Remote Control)

A breath of fresh air? Someone had to say it

Basement Jaxx made no secret of the fact that the recording of their fifth album, Scars, put them at odds with their long-time label, XL Recordings – Simon and Felix, tired of churning out party tunes, wanted to make something more melancholy and reflective, but XL stood firm in demanding floor-filling singles along the lines of Red Alert and Where’s Your Head At?. Originally intended as the second part of a double-disc Scars, Zephyr is instead being released as a stand-alone EP, and listening to it, you can almost hear the Jaxx saying ‘you guys can have your singles if we get to do this one our way’. Though it’s strange and down-tempo and only has about five and a half proper songs on it, Zephyr is still the freshest-sounding Basement Jaxx release in some time. Given the freedom to do whatever the hell they wanted in the studio, the group have come up with a collection of faux-Middle Eastern soundtrack music, Balearic chill-out anthems and synth-heavy, Journey-ish prog rock. Zephyr opens strongly, with the sprawling, seven-minute soft synth epic Peace Of Mind, and never quite outdoes it, but it’s a solid effort all the same – after ten years of bustling, over-the-top Jaxx tracks, it’s intriguing to hear them take such a subtle, understated approach.

***½

ALASDAIR DUNCAN

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