JUBA DANCE
Orange Juiced:  Remixes & B-Sides
[Audio 8 Recordings]
Release Date:  September 23, 2008

As a follow-up to their debut album Orange, Ben Lamar and Polyphonic the Verbose (otherwise known as Juba Dance) present a collection of new songs along with some remixes.  While this project does push the boundaries of musical genres, some experiments don’t always prove successful.  However, their hits certainly outnumber their misses.  Juba Dance is at its best when channeling their hip-hop influences through other formulas.  The best example would be “The Porpoise et La Mer,” R&B deep-fried in electronics and topped with b-boy swagger that’s undercut with real man sensitivity.  Planet Juba is consistently off its axis, which makes for unexpected listening pleasures.  “Vivo Viajar” is aurally seductive while remaining enigmatic in classification.  “Gone” is soulful techno that, for all its harmonic oddities, is surprisingly accessible.  The revisited material receives admirable remix work, from Sicker Man’s head-nodding take on “Cachaáa” to Turbo-Rexxa’s electro spin on “Union Hall.”  Orange Juiced will quench the thirst of the musically dehydrated, but sip slowly for best results.   -JRS