Ventriloquizzing

iTunes Review

It was with this, their fourth studio album, that Brighton, England’s Fujiya & Miyagi decided to work with a producer for the first time and add a fourth member to their trio (drummer Lee Adams). Thom Monahan (who has also worked with Devendra Banhart and Vetiver) helps Ventriloquizzing maintain a balance between its shadowy cool and comforting warmth. The title-track opens with Krautrock-inspired rhythms that pulse and flicker like a fluorescent light bulb under David Best’s detached and disarming vocals — where 2008’s Lightbulbs had him singing like he just woke up, 2011 Ventriloquizzing sounds like Monahan set up a microphone under the comforter so Best wouldn’t have to leave the bed while tracking vocals. But his deadpan delivery works perfectly with somber selections like “Cat Got Your Tongue” and the icy “Pills.” The latter along with the NEU!-influenced “Yoyo” are dotted with mechanized chirps, drones and analogue electro flourishes reminiscent of old-school Stereolab and Broadcast’s obsession with all things Joseph Byrd. Best’s vacant cool even makes sipping soup sound sexy on the standout “Minestrone.”