On 1996's Fever In Fever Out, the women of Luscious Jackson outgrew the "men suck" obsession of their breakthrough release, Natural Ingredients and developed a mature, rhythmic sound. Now, the foursome has pared down to three and has returned to the studio where they hope to recapture the signature, funk-laden groove that launched the band back in 1991. |

Luscious Jackson -- Jill Cunniff (vocals, bass), Gabby Glaser (vocals, guitar) and Kate Schellenbach (drums) -- entered the SoHo studio of producer Tony Mangurian about a month ago and so far things have been falling together well, Glaser told JAMTV from her Greenwich Village apartment on Tuesday.

Luscious spent much of 1997 touring and working on various projects -- including a commercial for retail outlet the Gap -- but still found time to create new music. "We've written quite a lot of songs, but you've got to focus on a few," Glaser said. "It seems like we might be getting back to our roots. The music has a little bit of everything -- live music over beats, some samples, a little country."

The band plans to complete the project by the end of the year, but their label, Grand Royal/Capitol, hasn't set a release date yet, Glaser said. Though they will most likely record and mix the entire album in New York with Mangurian, the eclectic trio also plans to work with producers like Alex Young (the band's DJ), Tony Visconti (U2, David Bowie, Iggy Pop) and Mickey P. (Beck). Glaser also dreams of recruiting the WNBA team the New York Liberty to add backup vocals to one song. ("I've heard them sing. They can definitely sing.")

The long haul to album completion will be broken up on Aug. 6 when the group -- minus keyboardist Vivian Trimble who left in April to pursue other projects -- will link up with the Lilith Fair for six dates on the East Coast. There, the girls plan to premiere a few new tunes.

While both Glaser and Cunniff share songwriting duties now as they have on earlier albums, the group will most likely perform Cunniff-penned numbers at Lilith Fair. "Jill's a lot more gutsy than I am," Glaser admitted. "I think [we'll perform] the songs she's written. I'm like a turtle; I just slowly come out."

Although Cunniff and Glaser will likely tinker with the keys for the album, on tour Luscious will continue as a foursome -- with a bit more testosterone. Singh Birdsong, a New York-based session musician, will take on Trimble's keyboard duties, and will be the first male to join the once all-female band. Glaser first met Birdsong more than five years ago at the once hip New York club, Nell's. After Trimble left the group, Glaser approached Singh about playing keys. They performed their first show with him in early June at the Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, and then at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington, D.C., on June 14.

Following their stint on Lilith, the group has no plans to tour until they complete the album. "Through the band's career, we'd record a little but, then run off to Europe for a month, then record a little more." Glaser said. "I think it'd be great if we can just finish the record."

In related news, Trimble has been busy recording music for soundtracks with Josephine Wiggs. The pair has been working at Trimble's apartment in New York and, according to Glaser, the group's former keyboardist "seems really happy." (Ari Bendersky)