Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins

Shawn Lee and the still anonymous Clutchy Hopkins are two prolific dudes. Fascinating Fingers is their second collaboration in less than a year and each released individual albums within the same length of time, while Lee collaborated with Money Mark on the Lord Newborn & Magic Skulls project this past fall. The creative well seems far from dry, as this is a more cohesive and unified effort than 2008's Clutch Of The Tiger. First and foremost, this is an exercise in funky atmosphere. "70 mph Isn't Fast Enough To Get Out Of Nebraska" sounds like it could have been an outtake from Herbie Hancock's Death Wish soundtrack, driven by a foreboding down tempo beat, with strong flourishes of keyboard and a hauntingly cinematic string arrangement, while the languid "Cross Rhodes" is an almost meditative piece of mellow soul. Turn out the lights, put on your headphones and dig some Fascinating Fingers.