The first moments of Milk and Honey advance long beams of warring lights on a dance floor fit almost for a Chelsea boy. The vocodered intro and call to have it “goin’ on and keep the people satisfied” almost make the first tune fit into the listening spaces of Manhattan’s gay muscled men who often prefer the “cheesier” side of dance music. Substantial handclaps and cool rhythm peak into a mild weatherstorm of synthesized rain and crowd roars. Eurodisco-house pastiche on par with the Cassius 1999 LP has a following in the French-spoken lopsided pattern of “Parler.” Papier-mâché funk perfect for the Spice Girls helps unroll the “Funkything” story. Native body impulses are rendered by bits of soul-jazz piano and Afro-Indian ratios from the gradual jubilation of “Rain.” Lucy Woodward’s echoes clasp the cerebellum. A half-ramp of bump from ’70s and ’80s funk with guitar band Slave leads sheer wind waves for “Touch.” Donny Johnson sings some unruffled bars of soul-house that end almost show-tune style from the album’s last cut, “High.” Itaal Shur likes to use international disco, world rhythm and American styles of music to put together a sound that can be cartoonish at one moment and reaching up to crisper pleasures of the body/mind the next.
E-mail Tamara Harris at [email protected].
