Search - Pest :: Necessary Measures

A smorgasbord of organic funk, cut-up beats and bizarre instrumentation, Pest's Necessary Measures sounds like Bootsy Collins falling down stairs mid-solo while Mr. Scruff plays on in the front room. Shaping mighty fine ambient cuts, the London quintet have a disparate combined history with a classical cello player having teamed up with a student of African drumming and a hip-hop DJ. Mixing upbeat feisty breakbeats with numerous weaving jazz solos Necessary Measures is a strange yet enthralling beast of an album. Hip-hop rhythms come laced with jittery electronica, while a throbbing warped bass pounds beneath samples on "Murda," buts it's "Jefferson Shuffle" with its soaring strings and distinctly cinematic sixties' lounge flavor that really stands out. Equally adventurous and ingenious, Pest have produced an album that's in a world of its own where shuffling hip-hop comes with killer grooves and a Sunday-afternoon jazz-fusion vibe. --Christopher Barrett