Junkie XL improved on its dance-rock clichés on the follow-up
Big Sounds of the Drags, but the band also seemed equally stubborn to let many of its bad habits go. With a sound closest to the crunched-up din of
Lo Fidelity Allstars, the work here had all the elements of a brutal follow-up, more intelligently mashing together a mix of hoary rock & roll and the electro scribbles of chemical hip-hop and
Brian Eno ambience, and yet it was still crippled with silliness. Its 12 tracks only recall better times with better outfits like
the Wiseguys,
Campag Velocet, and
the Chemical Brothers. ~ Dean Carlson