Fragments of Freedom

Album Review

Even though Morcheeba were one of the later, straggling entries in the trip-hop phenomenon, their previous albums succeed because of the interplay between Skye Edwards' sweetly sensual, airy voice and the band's correspondingly mellow grooves. Their third album, Fragments of Freedom, scraps most of their signature sound for experiments in R&B, acid jazz, and hip-hop. It's certainly understandable that the group would want to move away from the dead-and-buried trip-hop sound that defined them originally, and now Morcheeba are using bands like Brand New Heavies and M People as sonic templates instead of Tricky and Portishead. The opening track, "World Looking In," ranks among their finest, and the steel drum instrumental "A Well Deserved Break" is pretty and refreshing. "Shallow End" boasts a lilting, seductive melody that showcases Edwards' voice instead of fighting against it, and the title track is a pleasant enough piece of trip-hop pastiche.