Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy (flac)

NZB







Thievery Corporation make abstract, instrumental, mid-tempo dance music somewhere between trip-hop and acid jazz. The production duo of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, Thievery Corporation released a few warmly received singles on their own Eighteenth Street Lounge (ESL) label (named for their Washington, D.C. bar and nightclub) in 1996. Previously known primarily among acid jazz and rare-groove DJs, the group shot to minor celebrity when a track from one of their early 12"'s appeared on respected DJ/producers. (allmusic.com)

Review by John Bush.
Like their debut album, Thievery Corporation's second, The Mirror Conspiracy, is a pleasant album of sublime mid-tempo trip-hop, reminiscent of easy listening groove music, and continually referencing the breezier, atmospheric side of Brazilian, Jamaican, French, and Indian forms. The nocturnal dub-poetry of "Treasures" sets a tone for the bruising basslines and echoey keys throughout the album, and "Lebanese Blonde" is another early highlight, with the graceful vocalese of Pam Bricker framing live sitar by Rob Myers and a Jamaican-style horn section. Brazil represents with a triple-shot of "Air Batucada," "So Com Voce" (with vocals from Bebel Gilberto), and "Samba Tranquille." French chanteuse Lou Lou adds a bit of downtempo continental flair on "Le Monde" and "Shadows of Ourselves," and Thievery Corporation even samples Ella Fitzgerald on the ambient-jungle closer "Tomorrow." As on their first LP, Garza and Hilton occasionally appear satisfied to just push a few grooves and reference their favorite styles of music over the top — at the expense of any new ideas — but The Mirror Conspiracy is excellently produced and almost as stylish as the duo's swinging suits on the cover.

Tracklisting (FLAC):
1 Treasures Garza, Hilton 2:24
2 Le Monde Garza, Ghelichkhani, Hilton 3:11
3 Indra Garza, Hilton 5:22
4 Lebanese Blonde Garza, Hilton 4:48
5 Focus on Sight Garza, Hilton, Steele 3:47
6 Air Batucada Garza, Hilton 4:46
7 So Com Voce Garza, Gilberto, Hilton 2:47
8 Samba Tranquille Garza, Hilton 3:06
9 Shadows of Ourselves Garza, Ghelichkhani, Hilton 3:37
10 The Hong Kong Triad Garza 3:01
11 Illumination Garza, Hilton 4:38
12 The Mirror Conspiracy Garza, Hilton 3:45
13 Tomorrow Garza, Hilton 3:43