Bad Idea

The credits on this album are trendily sketchy: the singer is identified only as Lo, and her accompanists (John Bergin, Dedric Moore, Delaney Moore, and Patrick McBride) are credited with nothing more specific than "music." The press materials imply that Lolo is not a band name, but in fact refers to the singer. Interestingly, the music on Bad Idea was recorded at studios scattered across Europe and the U.S., which leads one to conclude that either Lolo is independently wealthy or has toured the world extensively prior to recording her debut album. The music? It's pretty great. Most tracks are well within the slow-to-medium-tempo funky chill-out range, and the group's textures are an appealing blend of electronic and organic, especially on the slowly grinding "Luna," and the strutting "We'll Manage That." Lo's vocals are consistently silky and attractive, even if her lyrics are occasionally just a bit much (sample couplet: "And the eagle had to hearken for the darkness couldn't fail/To cast the high and mighty into their own homemade jail"). The album's standout track is the last one, which ends the program on a palate-cleansing note of hyperkinetic jungle breakbeats. 20 bucks says her next release will be a remix album, and that it will rock.