cirKus

Somehow you knew that when Neneh Cherry emerged from her ten-year recording hiatus, the result would be something a little bit weird. And sure enough, cirKus is one strange little project. The group is a quartet consisting of Cherry, her husband Burt Ford (a.k.a. Cameron McVey, an alumnus of the early Massive Attack lineup), Karmil, and Karmil's companion Lolita Moon. Their sound is an unstable blend of acoustic and electric guitars, techno drum loops, broken beats, desultory trip hop, dreamy rap and dub. You'll hear echoes of Tricky and Massive Attack on this album, but every so often something trips up your expectations: "You're Such an…" is a startlingly vulgar kiss-off song in a reggae/hip hop vein; "Laylow" starts out spare and acoustic before gradually smearing into turntable-driven electronica and then dirty, clashy rock; "Cutting Out a Career" again starts out acoustic and builds its energy slowly to a rockish climax, with a dramatic trumpet part. The album loses focus somewhat about halfway through: the slightly whiny, Mikey Dread-style male vocals get a bit tiresome by that point, and by the time you get to "Love Can" and "Born Again" what was earlier enticingly dark and brooding has started sounding dreary and even silly. But at its best, this album is one of the strangest and most enticing of Cherry's career. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide