Who would believe that the duo, or at this point, “collective directed by Eric Hilton and Rob Garza,” has been around since 1995 and that they’re from Washington D.C., and not Bristol, United Kingdom? However, this explains why their style has never been dark and heavy enough to be considered real trip-hop, but instead rests in it’s own down tempo world.
Even without the trip-hop categorization, Thievery Corporation takes its messages of love, understanding and strong political opinions and packages them inside smooth beats. Culture of Fear does not deviate from this formula, starting with the eponymous track’s rant, “Security Alert on Orange / It’s been on orange since ‘01 G / What’s up man, can’t a brother get yellow man? / Like two months or somethin’?”
The Corporation’s other strength is its ability to rely on a whole palette of vocalists and musicians that allows them to pull ‘70s TV show instrumentals like in “Web of Deception,” relaxed ballads, such as “Where it all Starts” and “Take my Soul”, or heavy beats for “Is It Over”, which makes every song in line with their signature sound.
Two of the major changes on Culture of Fear are the absence of the sitar, staple to Thievery Corporation’s line up, and the usual French tune. These make the avid fan feel like there are missing pieces in the album cohesion. Feelings quickly dissolved by listening to “Safar (the Journey)”.
Overall, Thievery Corporation has, once again, delivered the goods with Culture of Fear, a strong album hitting all the right notes. Grab a drink, sit back, relax and let Thievery Corporation do the rest.
MP3 Stream: “Culture of Fear”
