Young Magic

Young Magic's first record, Melt, suits home speakers just fine, but it suits small venues better. Their intriguing mix of Indian Bhangra, rap and West African rhythm goes down well in a venue where you can hear the space between their bouncing bass, thumping percussion and singer Melati Malay's reverbed-out wail. The fact that so much of their live act is canned is kind of a bummer, but percussionist and programmer Isaac Emmanuel injects enough enthusiasm (and more than enough low end) into the proceedings to keep things interesting. Their album's uneven, so highlights like "Sparkly" and "You With Air" stuck out more than others, but when Young Magic play to their strengths -- Malay's fantastic voice, the stop-and-go rhythmic manipulation's of Emmanuel -- they're a pleasure to watch.