Dr. Didg
Serotonality
Hannibal/Rykodisc
Serology is the study of serums. Have the anti-toxin tones finally been discovered? Possibly so, as the Dr. pulls me in with some pounding rhythms which quickly turn to genre-grooves, teasing me towards those inevitable didjeridoo moments.
Certainly, Serotonality is full of toe-tappin’, knee-jerkin’ funkentrax, and they keep it interesting with tons of wah guitar, funky bass, synths, horn sections, percussion, harmonica, jazzy-newagey trancey sampley stuff. But nothing really out of the ordinary or standout. They even try the reliable ska-du-jour treatment, which is the most thinly veiled attempt at not being “just a didjeridoo record,” but the constantly scattered generic soloing hugely overshadows the didj work, which is extremely cool but too sparse when featured only in the quick intros or occasional spacey piece.
But apparently the solid rock-hop drumming, the Africanese guitars and Motown horns are all tapped into the steadily streaming power from the Dr.’s didj outlet. Unfortunately it seems to largely form music that’s like some karaoke backing tracks for James Brown or a few quirky TV show themes from down under. Maybe I was just hoping for too many of those didjeridoo moments. Rykodisc, Shetland Park, 27 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970; http://www.rykodisc.com
