Outrospective

07/18/2001 8:32 PM, LAUNCH
Ken Micallef

Am I missing something here or did Faithless's last real album (not counting "remix albums" =oxymoron: discuss), Sunday 8 p.m., feature more actual songs than twiddling dance floor fodder? Or perhaps this is not the same Faithless that once counted Dido among its family-styled two vocalists (Sister Bliss, Maxi Jazz) and a producer (Rollo) assemblage? That Faithless was unique, right down to its cover art (well, they still have that). The blossoming trip-hop on Sunday was more about substance than spinning dubplate and spoken-word nonsense and freak sounds with nowhere better to go than up your...

Outrospective is messy and mercurial. After the Pink Floyd-ish "Not Enuff Love" and the twinkling "Crazy English Summer," Outrospective rides the universal house zombie groove, building to Dido's gorgeous "One Step Too Far," a brief, dusty beauty of vocoder vocals, melancholic textures, and house thump (Gotta sell the song! Gotta make it remix-ready!). From there, the album retards as if in permafrost, growing moody and affected with sullen grooves and hollow songs. Spoken-word droppings float over vapid structures but bracing oddball sounds peak the interest.

"Evergreen"'s funk beat recalls Massive Attack, but it sounds too much like a Dido throwaway to convince. Outrospective hints at Faithless's wellspring of talent, but with Dido a star now in her own right, one wonders if the family well is down and dry.