There are some techno and rave DJs whose outlook is very much like that of a metalcore guitarist, a death metal drummer, or a gangsta rapper; they live for musical confrontation, and they view music as a bloodsport in which no prisoners shall be taken. That is one extreme in electronica; the other is the chillout/downtempo world, which has been the focus of many Kriztal Entertainment compilations in the 2000s. This 2006 release, which is a sequel to Kriztal's Plush compilation of 2003, is everything one expects Kriztal's chillout discs to be -- extremely lush, melodic, dreamy, jazzy, and romantic. But describing More Plush as romantic is not to say that this is an album of
Anita Baker ballads. The material, for all its lushness, generally has a rhythmic, club-friendly vibe; that is true of
Future Loop Foundation's "Jazz Mood No. 1,"
Bitter:Sweet's "The Mating Game," and
Metro Garage's "Poppy Noodles" as well as
Martin Böttcher's "Starlight Serenade" and Becker's "6 Aus 49." And while More Plush (which contains both instrumentals and vocal offerings) is quite relevant to the club scene of 2006, there is a strong historical basis for what transpires on this compilation; everyone from
Donna Summer and
Chic in the late '70s to
Soul II Soul in the early '90s laid the groundwork for the kinder, gentler view of 21st century electronica that More Plush favors. More Plush isn't quite as consistent as some other Kriztal compilations have been, but the CD is generally likable and is worth hearing if one prefers clubland electronica that would rather seduce than confront. ~ Alex Henderson