The most groove-oriented act in the mid-'90s female-fronted
electronica crowd, Morcheeba rely on the sweet, fluid vocals of
Skye Edwards and a laid-back mix of fusion, funk, and blues
produced by brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey on beats/scratches and
guitar/keyboards, respectively. The trio was formed in 1995 when
the Godfreys decided to go out on their own after co-producing
six tracks for David Byrne's album Feelings. They submitted
several tapes of their instrumental demos to labels around
London, but received little interest in return. After hooking up
with vocalist Edwards at a party, however, their music began to
gel and Morcheeba signed to the China label. After the release of
two EPs (Trigger Hippie and Music That We Hear), the trio issued
its debut album, Who Can You Trust? It appeared on the American
Discovery label in late 1996, and Morcheeba toured the U.S. with
Live and Fiona Apple the following year. Big Calm followed in
1998 and Fragments of Freedom was released two years later.
Charango appeared in 2002 and featured guest appearances from
Lambchop's Kurt Wagner and rapper Slick Rick. A year later, the
greatest-hits collection Parts of the Process was released and
Skye Edwards left the band. Former Noonday Underground vocalist
Daisy Martey joined the group for 2005's The Antidote, a more
acoustic album that mixed psychedelia with Burt Bacharach-styled
pop. Dive Deep (2008) took a marked turn toward folk, with the
Godfreys using a revolving door of vocalists who included Thomas
Dybdahl, Judie Tzuke, and Bradley Burgess. Original vocalist Skye
Edwards returned to the fold for 2010's Blood Like Lemonade and
remained for the 2013 release Head Up High. The latter featured
guest appearances from rappers Charli 2na and Rizzle Kicks along
with White Denim member James Petralli.
Now on their second album since original vocalist Skye Edwards
rejoined the band, trip-hop veterans Morcheeba stretch their
wings on Head Up High, an album that follows its guest stars into
outside genres and generally messes about with the group's
patented sound. It's obviously an inspirational move, as 'Face of
Danger' with rapper Chali 2na is a instantly gripping 2013
neo-disco near-sequel to Grace Jones' declarative hit 'Demolition
Man,' while the pride-injected 'To Be' with U.K. hip-hop duo
Rizzle Kicks gets that dirt off the shoulder in the coolest of
styles. 'Finally Found You' with White Denim's James Petralli is
a solid universal love song that would make the country charts if
sung by Parton and Rogers or the R&B charts if sung by Austin and
Ingram. The veteran trio is willing to explore on its own too,
offering new sound with 'Hypnotized,' a sultry, sexy creeper
readily available whenever Tarantino needs a cool soundtrack for
seduction, while 'Do You Good' is the kind of restrained electro
cool that Goldfrapp used to own exclusively. 'Make Believer'
offers dub at a wicked dancehall pace, but power ballads aren't a
natural fit for the group, as 'Call It Love' cries at the sky
looking for answers while lurching its way toward the fade-out.
Some other experiments only warrant a B or B+ and the whole
jumble might feel odd to a newcomer, but since it is mostly
returning fans at this late point in the discography, Head Up
High earns its title with only one or two flicks of the skip
button.