July 17, 1999

Scritti Politti : Tinseltown to the boogiedown

Somehow, for a clever act of appropriation, this record's got grace. Amazing.

Ah, it's good to hear that voice again. Green Gartside, the man Morrissey once memorably compared to Deanna Durbin, is back, and it's a pleasure. Always something of an arriviste and name-dropper, the years spent playing darts in Wales haven't stopped him talking about Derrida, but it's a rare talent that could return with a hip-hop record and not have you cringing behind the fridge for a week in horror. The scattergun rhyming of Mos Def and Lee Majors provides the melting-sidewalk stylings, but it's that swoon of a voice that makes you feel like you're being melted in a pan with butter and brandy. Somehow, for a clever act of appropriation, this record's got grace. Amazing.

VICTORIA SEGAL

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