Carl Cox

Up to now, Carl Cox's output on Moonshine has rarely amounted to anything more than the usual fast and heavy tracks for kids hyped up on E. Ecstatic beats, but with rarely anything to share with the listener, lyrically or sonically, beyond the call of escapism. His latest offering, however, is something different. Recorded live at the Crobar club in Chicago, with audience cheers in the mix, the disc shows Cox performing with precision and even some understatement. The tempo is techno, but the feel is more disco and house-like, with Cox occasionally bringing in a hip-hop touch, scratching in the beats and transforming the vocals. Aside from driving on the pounding grooves, the beats break-up like double-edge swords caught in a swivel and at other times swing like an electro-batacuda. The highlights include Tin Can's bass warbling "Scorp," Choose Life's Giorgio Moroder-ode, "Humate," and Steve Rachmad's minimalist anthem, "Divide and Conquer."