Will "Quantic" Holland is one prolific mutha. Since summer 2001, he has produced three albums under his name, formed an 11 piece touring, naturally instrumented funk band called the Quantic Soul Orchestra, and paired up with Russ Porter to become The Limp Twins. Releasing Stampede by Q.S.O. in April and the Twins' debut in November of 2003, Holland has consistently produced some of the tastiest funk on the market in a variety of flavours. While The 5th Exotic was fairly dark and trip-hop laced and Apricot Morning, the last Quantic album, was polished with an emphasis on danceable beats and conventional club song structure, Mishaps draws more from his funk purist leanings than anything playing at the Ministry Of Sound. Live instrumentation drives this album, whereas before it was used as a tool of elevation to make tracks explode before your very ears, the problem here being that the organic funk isn't strong enough to carry the entire album. The mission statement for Q.S.O., as outlined in the liner, was for it to be a played, not manufactured project with the goal of "putting something back" like a seed to restock the future generations' discovery bins. But where the magic of Stampede rested in natural sounds and a vibrant live energy only achieved by the greatest jam bands, Mishaps comes off a tad choppy and often lacks the punch of Apricot, making this a more likely candidate for use as café music than as an after-party no-brainer. However, tracks like the downbeat "Trees And Seas," which recalls early Herbaliser, and the London Elektricity styled house & bass of "Perception" would've been out of place on any other album due to Mishaps' unique production. Also, Alice Russell is top form as always squeezing all the soul she can out of every lyric, which, for a woman of her minute stature, is remarkable. Though it's not Holland's best, this is a solid, uplifting album.
1. Mishaps Happening
2. Use What You Got feat. Sonny Akpan
3. Sound of Everything feat. Alice Russell
4. En Focus feat. Trinidad
5. Trees And Seas
6. Angels And Albatrosses
7. Furthest Moment
8. Don't Joke With a Hungry Man feat. Spanky Wilson
9. Prelude To Happening
10. When You're Through feat. Spanky Wilson
11. Perception
12. So Long feat. Alice Russell
More about: Quantic
