The CD with packed-in DVD format is just right for the multimedia minded
Hexstatic. They've gone down this road before with the CD/CD-ROM set
Rewind, but DVDs are much easier for the general consumer and can hold a lot more at a much higher quality. To add the excitement, some of the videos are in 3-D, but it's the old red/blue kind that's been around since the '50s -- not the better, polarized lense kind -- and the videos you'd really want to see in 3-D aren't always the ones that are. Oh yeah, there's the music, too. So how are the tunes? Well, there are more ideas and innovations in the video, with
Hexstatic sounding no different than they did four years ago. There are the usual instructional record samples coupled with the same old funky bass and breakbeats, and even that tired Japanese female vocal device is retrodden here. That said, they're wonderful architects of songs, with every track here being as solid as they are soundtracky. "Chase Me," "L-Virata," and "Salvador" overcome that "heard it all before" feeling on second listen and keep growing in appeal. A decent album for the background, but the huge, dual-layer DVD ups the ante with a video for each song, a video megamix, and a bunch of audio extras that add up to hours of exploration. Don't come here looking for the next big sound, but fans of the
Coldcut/Ninja Tune sound and aesthetic are going to have their remote in hand for more than a couple evenings. ~ David Jeffries