Rating: **** (4 out of 4)

Availability: Widely Available

Cornershop is the epitome of Acid Pop. Using pop loops and instruments, the English/Indian group creates tripped-out grooves and smooth-as-silk funks. Layering keyboard, bass, and sitar over snare drums and whistles, they create a uniquely funky sound.

Tjinder Singh's smooth voice flows over the music, caressing it as he delivers lyrics alternatingly in English and Punjabi, sometimes switching in mid-sentence. The music is cunningly built. "Brimful of Asha" starts out as a tribute to Indian movie actress Asha Bohsle before moving into a love song to a 45 RPM record. "Butter the Soul" is a competition staged between a record scratcher and a sitar player.

One of the highlights on the album is the track "When the Light Appears Boy," on which the late poet Alan Ginsberg collaborated, reading a tribute to Bob Dylan over the sound of Cornershop's drums. The CD ends with a cover of The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" which sounds almost identical to the original Rubber Soul recording, except for the small fact that Tjinder sings the song in Punjabi.

With smooth grooves and funk rhythms, Cornershop proves that funky days are back again in this artistic, innovative, and fun album.

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