Review One: Thievery Corporation’s Radio Retaliation

Sitka Creations is proud to offer the first of our music reviews by our DJ ARIV. The CD we have chosen for this review is the latest by the Thievery Corporation: Radio Retaliation.

And here it is, thank to ARIV! More to follow in the future.

Is the state of the world getting you down? Senseless rampant murder, greed, gaping inequalities, and the corporate induced decline of our marvelous jewel of a planet, earth, got you a little irked? Maybe even got your ire up? Want to get tough and start to do something to help? Then grab your coolest fedora, liberally splash on some of your most expensive French cologne, and head down to the swankest, hipster-infested social club you know and get political. Start effecting real change towards true global betterment — Thievery Corporation style!
“Radio retaliation,” the fifth studio album from Washington D.C. world/electronic outfit Thievery Corporation, is out to peel some evil dictator’s wig back. Enlisting the diverse talents of Nigerian afro-beat staple Femi Kuti, Brazilian vocalist Seu Jorge, Indian sitar virtuoso Anushka Shankar, and Slovakian violinist Jana Andeuska, T.C. assembles a gritty team of crack commandos to put the fear of god back into big business Enron styled CEO thugs and profiteers.
“Radio Retaliation is definitely a more overt political statement,” says Garza one of the two core members of T.C. “There’s no excuse for not speaking out at this point, with the suspension of habeas corpus, outsourced torture, illegal wars of aggression, fuel, food, and economic crisis. Its hard to close your eyes and sleep while the whole world is burning around you. If you are an artist, this is the most essential time to speak out.”
WORD! FIGHT THE POWER!
Has illegal whale poaching off the northern coast of Japan got your blood pressure up? The solution is simple; just scan the club for a cute little honey, pull her close and jam though the injustice with the deep sub-woofin’ floor poundin’ head bobbin’ dub soaked bounce of “sound the alarm,” the first track on the record. This is classic T.C., with vocal phenomenon Sleepy Wonder pontificating in the booth.
Mandala follows, a high energy track brimming over with generous portions of percolating cosmic sitar, working over a classic breakbeat and at about 130 beats per minute, this track is sure to smack some conscience into sleazy southeast Asian underground slavery bosses and have them come out of the dark and confess their inhumane trespasses against innocence.
And really, what better way to get focused, organized, and proactive than receiving a near contact-high by listening to the eye-glazing thick syrupy Kingston dub title track, “Radio retaliation.” Hey man, we gotta save the planet! But not right now cause it is obvious somebody has a bad case of the munchies. Nuff said.
I can go on like this for every song on “Radio retaliation,” but I think you know what I’m saying, and if you don’t then all I can say is that this record ain’t bad. It’s not a step backward, but there is nothing new to be seen here either. However, it definitely meets the T.C. status quo and really isn’t that what we all want to do, deep down. Meet the status quo — then just chill. Well then keep chillin’ brothas ‘n sistas, keep chillin’.
ARIV.