Even though
Morcheeba were one of the later, straggling entries in the
trip-hop phenomenon, their previous albums succeed because of the interplay between
Skye Edwards' sweetly sensual, airy voice and the band's correspondingly mellow grooves. Unfortunately, their third album,
Fragments of Freedom, scraps most of their signature sound for half-baked experiments in
R&B,
acid jazz, and
hip-hop. Though it's certainly understandable that the group would want to move away from the dead-and-buried
trip-hop sound that defined them originally, it seems that
Morcheeba are just using bands like
Brand New Heavies and
M People as sonic templates instead of
Tricky and
Portishead. The bland, overly slick production softens any impact that soulless
soul songs such as
"Rome Wasn't Built in a Day" and
"Love Is Rare" might have had, and while
Edwards may be blessed with a soulful voice, she's unconvincing belting out pseudo-sultry lyrics like "Is that a rocket in your pocket?" The group's misguided forays into
hip-hop are even worse;
Mr. Complex's guest rap on
"Love Sweet Love" sounds like it was surgically grafted from another track entirely, and while
Bahamadia's appearance on
"Good Girl Down"'s celebration of sisterhood makes more sense, it still sounds out of place with
Edwards' essentially refined, delicate style. Not every song on
Fragments of Freedom is ill conceived, however; the opening track,
"World Looking In," ranks among their finest, and the steel drum instrumental
"A Well Deserved Break" is pretty and refreshing. Despite its annoying, overpowering synth bass,
"Shallow End" boasts a lilting, seductive melody that showcases
Edwards' voice instead of fighting against it, and the title track is a pleasant enough piece of
trip-hop pastiche. But for the most part,
Fragments of Freedom's contrived attempts to bring the
funk to
Morcheeba's sound are as fake and painful as a forced smile. ~ Heather Phares