Lionrock

An Instinct for Detection (Time Bomb)
by Lex Marburger

The name doesn’t really sound like an electro band, and the title doesn’t sound like an electro album that will go anywhere, but Lionrock has a cool vibe that takes mellow trip-hop and matches it with the blips and fakes of high-speed techno. The end result is something like an easy-going funk proposition, with an incredibly rational MC over the top, not wasted, but utterly coherent, chanting about the state of the world as the beats slowly get stoned. I could see the Dust Brothers having fun with these tracks (though another drug-referencing sibling duo, the Chemical Brothers, take their hand at a remix of “Packet Of Peace.” Of course it rocks, silly!), and the dance factor is high. Maybe not in that frenetic, I’ve-got-so-many-drugs-in-my-system-I-don’t-know-my-own-name way, but in more of a check-this-out-I’m feeling-the-groove way. What sort of move is that? Well, start by putting your feet on the floor. Don’t move them, at least, don’t lift them up much. Slide them. That’s right, move your hips and let the feet slip where they want to. Put your shoulders into it, let the arms go and get the groove deep inside ya. Case in point: “Fire Up The Shoesaw,” which begins with the intro to “These Boots Were Made For Walkin’,” soon cuts it up, adds some vocals (a deadpanned “Where’d you learn to shake that booty?”) and lets an obesely distorted bassline take the tune, as strange electronic trappings walk through the sonic door in all their regality, only to be manipulated and abused, thereafter leaving in a huff. The sounds that stay are well represented. We got some vibes, a relaxed James Brown drum line (not “Funky Drummer,” by the way. Something slicker, like “I Gots Ta Move”), and MC Buzz B hitting some incredibly icy lyrics (nothing fazes this guy. Never a dull moment, never an angry sneer, natural). What more could you ask for? Put these guys on the waiting list when AMP starts looking for the next commodity to push.