Who are Milez Benjiman, and where did they come from? The Netherlands, apparently, and perhaps the same mothership that Bootsy Collins got off 40 years ago. Regardless, Gerd, Delgui, and Colonel Red know what the hell they’re doing when it comes to electronic funk, and their debut album, Feel Glorious, is as exciting mentally as it is physically.
“Chop That Wood” gets my vote for the Best Dance Single of the Year, achieving an effect more in sync with Deerhoof’s drunk-funk than Parliament’s tighter brand. Already circulating iPods for the last five months, “Chop That Wood” is exactly what the electro-dance world needed to hear. The bass is wet, the vocals are loud, and the goofy synthesizers create an appropriately postmodern version of Parliament’s Bernie Worrell.
The rest of the album, not unexpectedly, doesn’t carry the same momentum, but it's still worthwhile in its reminders of ’70s hip-hop, R&B, and funk, recontextualized with Nord electros instead of first-generation Moogs. Aperiodic rap tracks, like “Inheritance,” build off humble beginnings in a similar way to vintage Tribe Called Quest.
With beats this funky, however, it’s not surprising that the lyrics are far less memorable. Although tracks like “Soundcheckin’” have a few clever mic tests (“Chicken rice and peas please/ Put honey on my salad/ But no salt on my cheese, geez!”), most of the rhymes are worthless. Without the stylistic juxtapositions, “Crazy ‘bout Ya” would sag since lines like “Talk to me now/ If you can, then I won’t frown/ Just as long as you know/ That I’m crazy ’bout ya” don’t mean much on their own. But behind the two-step drums and tasteful saw waves, Milez Benjiman find a comfortable niche in a genre that badly needed an intelligent update.
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