Fug - Ready For Us

Fug's debut READY FOR US (on the sorely missed Nuphonic label) is an hour or string-drenched melodies. They take downtempo into a blissful direction. When Jess Williams provides her soaring vocals, the songs rocket straight into the atmosphere: "Overflow" actually does seem to overflow with emotion, while "Ready To Go" floats on the clouds. Elsewhere, Fug takes a jazz approach, from the mellow "The Prophet" to "Shrewd Movements," which picks up a torch and runs with it. They dabble in noir-funk, as well, as "El Diablo" and "Chunk" attest. But on their strongest tracks, they approach a near-classical sensibility: "R.F.O." revels in its baroque strings, backed with a strong rhythmic sense, while "Blue Movie" is a pizzicato heaven, and I'll be damned if it isn't the most memorable track on the album. This album is like ice cream for your ears.