Global Underground: Barcelona – James Lavelle

The celebrated Global Underground series of DJ mixes continues with this entry by British DJ James Lavelle, one of the founders of the Mo' Wax label and a former member of the notorious U.N.K.L.E.. These two discs document a long set spun by Lavelle in June of 2002 at the Nitsa Club in Barcelona, Spain, and unlike far too many DJ mixes, this one features a wildly eclectic set of beats and breaks along with a healthy dose of hard house. The sloppy information provided with the promotional version of this release makes it a little difficult to identify some of the tracks, but among the highlights are the monstrously funky "Dirtywaltzer" by Soul of Man and an exuberant dancehall-meets-techno celebration entitled "Black Widow" by Uberzone and Rennie Pilgrim. Whereas most of these tracks are dance grooves pure and simple, the program closes with an actual song by Doves, whose heavy mid-tempo rocker "There Goes the Fear" ends up sounding like a cross between early Pearl Jam and early Heaven 17, with a touch of Lords of Acid thrown in just to keep things weird. Very nice indeed. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide