 
Thievery Corporation’s Rob Garza and Eric Hilton return with
their first full new studio record since 2002’s Richest Man in
Babylon. Upon first glance, The Cosmic Game would appear to be a full
on cameo record, with featured guests on about ¾ of the album’s
tracks. But as the cliché goes, appearances can be deceiving.
High profile guest spots by the Flaming Lips, Perry Farrell (of Jane’s
Addiction), and the Talking Heads’ David Byrne do not take away
from the fact that this is a Thievery Corporation CD. Perry Farrell’s
singing on “Revolution Solution” sounds more influenced
by Bristol based “trip-hoppers” Portishead or Massive Attack
than Jane’s Addiction or Porno for Pyros. David Byrne’s
guest vocals on “The Heart’s a Lonely Hunter” work
surprisingly well, but don’t expect it to sound like the Talking
Heads. Lesser-known guests such as Gunjan, Verne Varela, and Patrick
de Santos bring their international flavor to The Cosmic Game, with
lyrics in Indian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Thievery Corporation manages
to fuse these sounds seamlessly into their own dub influenced, international
flavored down tempo beats. Lyrically, The Cosmic Game is united by one
common theme: disillusionment with the current social and political
situation in the world. Musically, this album is not a huge departure
for Thievery Corporation, but if you are looking for a new CD to kick
back and space out to, The Cosmic Game definitely fits the bill. –
Ben Frans, San Francisco manager |
Thievery
Corporation