Review by scoundrelJul 12, 2004(edited over 5 years ago)
Jazz meets glitch, on Jaga Jazzist's debut album A LIVINGROOM HUSH, with more of an emphasis on the jazz part. Lots of horns and instruments placed over skittering beats. In a word: excellent. Imaginative throughout, with a wide range of moods. While "Going Down" and "Press Play" both skew upbeat, "Airborne" starts off with a quieter, more thoughtful quality (with some static thrown in for good measure) with a sudden riotous build towards the end. "Low Battery" has a spy-esque theme running through it; "Lithuania" is so uplifting that it could be an anthem for that small country. The final track, "Cinematic," takes a simple theme and augments it with feedback and noise. An astonishing debut.
This is a great album in the same vane as Tortoise. Really solid jazz on top of interesting electronic textures. Very cool instrumentation and the overall arch of the album is well-concieved creating an excellent beginning to end listen.