This solo album by D'Cuckoo's
Candice Pacheco is a revelation. Avoiding song structures in general, she weaves a hypnotic fabric out of polyrhythmic samples, synthetic beats and her own arresting voice. The album opens with the bracing "If Then...," in which her voice is overdubbed and layered over a rippling bed of funky drumming and lush keyboards. "In Two & Then" veers toward a jungle beat. Half the time, her voice sounds like an ethnomusicologist's field recording, and half the time she sounds like a cherubic diva. There's no telling what language (if any) she's singing in, which allows her to avoid the lyrical problems that sometimes plague D'Cuckoo's work. This album describes itself as "groove food for intelligent lifeforms," which may sound a bit arch, but pretty much hits the mark. Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson