VARIOUS ARTISTS
DUBLAB PRESENTS: SUMMER
DUBLAB/HEFTY RECORDS
If electronica revealed itself to be the reincarnation of the dullest disco in the past few years, Hollywood's Internet radio station dublab.com consistently reminded us what was cool about this sound in the first place. It was eclectic, it was surprising, and even if it delved too far into the eccentric, it always did so with an addictive beat. Happily, the genre's best intentions blossom on dublab's second compilation of outsider DJ music. For eclectic, there's Tom Chasteen's track “Point Dume,” with its mellow, playful coronet solo seamlessly meshing with light sitar, tabla percussion and downtempo beats. For surprising, there's Manitoba's track “People Eating Fruit,” which tantalizes with a child-like sense of discovery; warm keyboards; a distant, dreamy children's chorus; and a bag of tricky and melodic beats. And does this album ever become too eccentric? Not really. Just like the general tone of the station, summer sounds like Brian Eno in a great, playful mood.
