hm...I'm always surprised when something like a new vibert album has already landed in the 'used' bin at my local record store and I've barely heard a peep about it from this list. perhaps that indicates a general dissatisfaction on the part of the readership. their live show at bowery ballroom sure got slagged in the NYTimes...
that said, I'm curious what people make of it. "stop the panic" is a very odd product indeed, certainly uneven. but, at best, it's a successful and uncanny collaboration between Vibert and slide guitar player BJ Cole. it recalls another slide guitar player, Ry Cooder and his propensity for recording with unlikely collaborators. whereas the Cooder projects typically result in "someone else's music + Ry", this collaboration seems remarkably thorough and seamless. Vibert's love for exhuberant camp and genre splicing is shared here by Cole, who gleefully and beautifully conjures western swing, '50's exotica, hawaiian music and other more abtract forms. he sounds like the perfect Vibert sample. anyway, he's an incredible player, and if anyone can suggest other recordings by Cole, email me. The Vibert part of the deal is more or less Wagonchrist-like, though the silliness factor goes right off the chart at times (not neccesarily a bad thing), and hip hop beats give way to swing, rock and other 'anachronistic' dance rhythms.
well, so far, it's the best "fusion" album of the year 2000...
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