Thievery Corporation – The Cosmic Game

Another great album for Thievery Corporation and their best up to this point. The album flows beautifully from start to finish. Opens up with the Pink Floydesque Marching the Hate Machines; the political protest theme continues with Warning Shots and Revolution Solution. Cosmic Game is beautifully ambient as is the Indian Satyum Shivam Sundarum. Notch singing on Amerimacka reminded me of Ali Campbell on early UB40 - a bit of a mix of Madame Medusa and Food for Thought. The familiar TC Latin theme is there on Ambicion and Pela Janela as it is with Sol Topado which has an Acid jazz feel. TC remixed David Byrne's Dance on Vaseline on their 1999 remix album Abductions and Reconstructions and he appears here on The Heart's a Lonely Hunter. Holographic Universe has a funky, trippy sound that takes you back into the Indian sub-continent with Doors of Perception which starts as a meditative raga before busting into a funky stomper of a tune for the last minute or so. Wires and Watchtowers has the familiar 21st Century Dub sound of Thievery Corporation which blends well into the superb The Supreme Illusion which is typical of the album; rich, diverse and trippy. At one point it's Raga with a Ragga beat and chills out at the end leading up nicely to the melancholic The Time We Lost Our Way before finally gently dissolving into A Gentle Dissolve. Wow, think i'll play it all over again.

Another great album for Thievery Corporation and their best up to this point. The album flows beautifully from start to finish. Opens up with the Pink Floydesque Marching the Hate Machines; the political protest theme continues with Warning Shots and Revolution Solution. Cosmic Game is beautifully ambient as is the Indian Satyum Shivam Sundarum. Notch singing on Amerimacka reminded me of Ali Campbell on early UB40 - a bit of a mix of Madame Medusa and Food for Thought. The familiar TC Latin theme is there on Ambicion and Pela Janela as it is with Sol Topado which has an Acid jazz feel. TC remixed David Byrne's Dance on Vaseline on their 1999 remix album Abductions and Reconstructions and he appears here on The Heart's a Lonely Hunter. Holographic Universe has a funky, trippy sound that takes you back into the Indian sub-continent with Doors of Perception which starts as a meditative raga before busting into a funky stomper of a tune for the last minute or so. Wires and Watchtowers has the familiar 21st Century Dub sound of Thievery Corporation which blends well into the superb The Supreme Illusion which is typical of the album; rich, diverse and trippy. At one point it's Raga with a Ragga beat and chills out at the end leading up nicely to the melancholic The Time We Lost Our Way before finally gently dissolving into A Gentle Dissolve. Wow, think i'll play it all over again.

THE COSMIC GAME see the Thievery Corporation working much more with vocals, including some contributions for a few well-known voices, such as The Flaming Lips on the twinkling, spacy "Marching The Hate Machines (Into The Sun)" or Perry Farrell lending a ache to "Revolution Solution." David Byrne brings 'The Heart's A Lonely Hunter" a unique vibe. But there's also room for lesser known artists, such as the raga singer on "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" or the Latin American contingent that starts with "Ambicion Eterna" and ends with "Sol Tapado," while "Warning Shots" bursts out with a more aggressive dub. But their instrumental tracks shine just as bright, as with the dreamy "Holographic Universe" or the heavy thump of "The Supreme Illusion." "A Gentle Dissolve" takes the album out on a gentle note indeed, emphasizing the spaciness while still grounding the track with the horns. This is a game you'll want to play again and again.

For me, this is easily the best TC so far. The incredible atmosphere and blend of world influences makes it a seamless aural experience - push the button and let the music play the cosmic game with your mind.