Thievery Corporation

Versions (ESL)
by Tim Den

If The Cosmic Game was the victory after the boring The Richest Man in Babylon, then Versions is proof that the celebration was premature. Just when you thought downtempo kings Thievery Corporation had had enough of wading around in bland, vanilla samples, beats, and melodies, they turn in an 18-song dub remix record that’s about as interesting as watching metal rust. Seriously, almost every drum sample, hi-hat, synth patch, and bass hook on here could be from a “how to become an electronica act in two days” instructional CDR. The sonic palette is about as pedestrian as it comes. The Cosmic Game introduced fresh ideas and directions in the form of a psychedelic slant toward instrumentation, so why retrograde to lowest common denominator/autopilot button pushing?

The Mirror Conspiracy was a landmark release and The Cosmic Game showed that the pioneers were still looking forward. But Versions does everyone a disservice by taking a huge step backward.
(www.eslmusic.com)