Cuizinier / Various

"Girls” steals a sample from Blur classic "Girls & Boys” as its base, and not exactly subtly or respectfully. Of course that’s what Cuizinier and company are going for in this music: off-the-cuff, sloppy and whack. "Lettre F” (featuring Spankrock and Pase Rock) stands more for "freak-out” than the overstated "funky” and "fun.” This record attempts to meld happy hardcore, funk and JT-type pop music with French and English hip-hop and ballads. With representation from Tom Jones ("You Can Leave Your Hat On”), Boyz II Men ("I’ll Make Love to You”), Haddaway’s "What is Love? (Baby don’t hurt me, no more)” and P.M. Dawn ("Set Adrift On A Memory Bliss”), there are loads of borrowed music. There are classic tunes that would rock any party but at other times it feels like a scary rave flashback, which is cool. "The Good Guys” kicks out a whack hardcore beat like those heard in the late ’90s. Still, it’s hard to imagine Cuizinier at the same level as the groundbreaking artists of that era.