A sort of world music fusion with modern elements is the order of the day on Been Laden You Too Long. Certainly strong streaks of African, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern music are part of their all-instrumental blend. They're not particularly attached to any style within those boundaries, and it would take a whole paragraph to list the instruments they utilize over the course of this hourlong disc, ranging from tabla and bongos to bouzouki, mandolin, flutes, and sitar guitar. Highly rhythmic, the music also has some distinctively 21st century high-tech overlays, like the searing almost hard rock guitar on "Berber," synthesizer-sounding trills, and even a bit of fusion jazz-type interplay (especially on "Zanzibar"). Highly impressive and accomplished in its execution, it nonetheless occupies an uncomfortable niche between traditional forms of world music and too-slick arrangements. ~ Richie Unterberger