The cover of this CD shows the intersection of India Street and Manhattan Avenue -- a most appropriate image, given the nature of the album.
Dum Dum Project members Sean "Cavo" Dinsmore, Jason Goodrow, and
Phil Painson manage to balance on the fine line between Eastern and Western electronica, borrowing some of the best elements from each without ever going fully over into one or the other. The exotic sounds of the ektara and the sitar mix with keyboards and guitar. Tight basslines underscore each track, while a dozen Indian vocalists including
Asha Puthli and
Bhagavan Das pepper the album with chants, mantras, and Eastern warbles. Lead vocalist Dinsmore provides muttered voice-overs of a vaguely spiritual bent. While at times the lyrical themes of this album can be reminiscent of Deepak Chopra texts, the music (with the exception of "Beloved" and "Let Me Show You") is a lot more energetic. A standout track is "Nataraja." Funky, exotic, eminently danceable, and slightly hypnotic, it stays true to its Indian roots but still manages to sound just clubby enough. ~ L. Katz