Morcheeba

Female-fronted electronica in the mid-'90s could often be cold and minimal, however appealingly so. But as envisaged by London's Morcheeba, the medium gained warmth and a decided groove. The key was singer Skye Edwards, whose heated purr breathed life into the mix of ambient and trip-hop cooked up by her bandmates, brothers Ross and Paul Godfrey. She coos her way through the trio's debut, upping the sex quotient on already slinky tracks such as "Tape Loop." But it soon becomes apparent that her emotional spectrum begins at sexy and ends no further than sultry. Singing of heartbreak on "Col," she only approximates sadness, and her near-lifeless approach to the mournful "Howling" comes off like a wasted opportunity.

For Big Calm, her lack of emotional range proves a perfect fit. Here, the band reveals a flirtatious side on tracks such as "Shoulder Holster" and the opening "The Sea." It also starts to expand its musical repertoire, copping a reggae beat and a midsong toast for "Friction," and adding scratches and vocal samples to the instrumental "Bullet Proof."

On Fragments of Freedom, Morcheeba gets over-zealous. The trio incorporates a new style into practically every song: dashes of funk on "Love Is Rare," soul on "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day," beat-boxing courtesy of Biz Markie on "In the Hands of the Gods" -- even calypso on "A Well-Deserved Break." The followup, Charango, is only somewhat less disjointed, and once again Edwards' voice proves ill suited to experimental forays. Pursuing a seemingly obvious connection to hip-hop, Morcheeba invites two rappers to guest on the album: Pace Won, on "Get Along" and the title track, and Slick Rick, on "Women Lose Weight," a cautionary tale about murdering one's wife because she's fat. It's all wrong, and Edwards' vocal turn on "Women Lose Weight" only makes matters worse -- her earnest and airy de-livery is completely at odds with Rick's wry tone. Her duet with Lambchop's Kurt Wagner, however, on "What New York Couples Fight About," proves more successful: Wagner's ragged near-whisper balances out the bright vocals Edwards can't help but de-liver. Ultimately, the 18-track career overview Parts of the Process may be the best way to experience Morcheeba. (NINA PEARLMAN)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide