Deep

While Kosheen took drum'n'bass to the mainstream club and Pendulum twisted it into something approaching fist-pumping, arena rock, Ror-Shak want to become the Zero 7 or Röyksopp of drum'n'bass. Members DJ DB and Shaun Morris bring the genre into the lounge on their debut album, Deep, a laid-back and often spacy effort that works best in the background thanks to some cringe-worthy words. Luckily, these producers have great taste in vocalists with Naked Music veteran Lisa Shaw supplying the soul while David Lynch's muse Julee Cruise supplies the previously mentioned spaciness. Morningwood frontwoman Chantal Claret does an excellent job on this slowly building cover of the Cure's "A Forest," but it's the lesser known Wendy Starland who comes in first with her jazzy, Billie Holiday inspired voice gracing two cuts. Ror-Shak's rich, warm soundscapes and their infectious drum'n'bass rhythms would be just as listenable as instrumentals, so even with all the beautiful voices, Deep would be better off stripped of some hippy, trippy, and trite words. [A U.K. version added bonus tracks.]