Wax Beat

Wax Beat’s debut is as icily sexy as its eerily provocative artwork. While the front and back covers portray the soft, human-like features of an androgynous robot’s private areas, the mid-tempo grooves contained within combine Bristol’s trip-hop sound with ’80s dance music dramatics. The diva vocals of Patricia Kraus bring Annie Lennox and Alison Moyet to mind, while the two Juans (Belda and Gomez) supply slippery grooves and wah-wah guitars that could slide nicely into any Gilles Peterson set. Bongos, a heavy acoustic jazz influence and some Indian harmonising are some of the notable touches on Go Outside and Play, though the lyrics could use a little more depth ("I got nothing to say / Just wanna go out and play / Every night until day,” croons Kraus on the title track). Diehard fans of early Massive Attack and all of the trip-hoppers who followed in that band’s wake (Supreme Beings of Leisure, Morcheeba, etc.) will get behind this Madrid-based trio. Others might find themselves nodding off.