Search - Mescalito :: One Path in a Million

One album in a million

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just what do you call an album like "One Path in a Million" -- experimental acid-funk-rock with a slight twist of jazz? Mescalito's debut is a weird mixture of electronica, and Brit-indierock, as if Portishead and Blur had a head-on collision. Somehow it all meshes together seamlessly.



"1/2 Tested" sets the tone for the jazzier parts of the album, with eerie electronic wobbles and distorted singing set against catchy drumming. A more rock-ish edge enters other songs, with a slow poppy melody being smothered in atmospheric synth. "No Half Measures" goes all-out acoustic, creating a lush-sounding song out of guitars.



But many songs fade in and out from one style to another, as if unwilling to stay in one place for too long. For example, "Shoreditch Oyster" starts with a jazzy tone, which slowly unfolds to reveal mellow guitars and even mellower chill-out tones. It's just poppy enough to keep you from unwinding to it.



Luke Shepherd and Derek O'Sullivan are the men behind Mescalito. And they have some remarkable talents, turning what could have been a pedestrian little trip-hop album into a rich, slightly surreal musical journey. In other words, don't even try to classify this little puppy -- "alternative" is far too mild a word to describe it.



They have a deft touch with electronica, whether making dark sonic sweeps or light bubbly diddles. And there's an equally deft touch with more typical instruments like the percussion -- which is cymbal-heavy and jazzy -- and the cascading guitars that spill over the edges of the songs. Sampled in are a muffled, distorted woman's voice in the first song and some church bells in "Lovegate."



"One Path in a Million" is definitely an odd album, a bit like having an acid trip while heavily tranquilized. But the real triumph is that Shepherd and O'Sullivan were able to take mellow British rock, trip-hop, jazz and a touch of funk, and weave it all together into something that is not just beautiful, but impossible to put a finger on."

Deep Rolling Lounge

gurujunkie | Boston, MA USA | 01/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mescalito begins it assault on your sense with a near perfect interpretation of a smooth peyote trip. Track one is an all time favorite and is now a musical benchmark for all others to aspire.The remaining tracks are equaly delicious and provide the listener with a myriad of deep, rolling, grooves. IMHO Mescalito is best served after the first peaks and rolls, when a truely warm fuzzy sense of lounge can be appreciated."

Great

Ben | Concord, MA USA | 12/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent album. Every track is like a long journey, and I would recommend this CD for anyone who really loves music."