Luke Vibert isn't exactly a crossover artist. That implies some sort of catering, and at least a smidgen of selling out. Vibert has been consistently loyal to his idea that hip hop-inspired dance music doesn't have to be trance-inducing or rigidly repetitive -- it can be fun and even unabashedly silly. And that's why his music has such broad appeal without consorting to commercial pop grabs. His last release, the awesome, breakbeat-heavy
YosepH, proved that he could hang with his slice-happy contemporaries;
Sorry I Make You Lush returns him to his slightly more traditional Wagon Christ mode, last unleashed on 2001's
Musipal. The new one closely resembles its predecessor, reining in
Tally Ho!'s funhouse extremes in favor of somewhat more subtle thrills.
That's not to say that Vibert is done playing around -- his sweet tooth for burping neon synths, cleverly chosen acoustic bits and humorous and often off-putting samples remains intact. "The Funnies" stacks dozens of stolen laughs, whistles and "hello?"s over a wild, broken beat. The title track mad-dashes through Vibert's most intense beat in years, while "Shadows"' cozy guitar and lacy female vocals confirm his emotional range. Planet of the Apes sample (ha ha, Heston did overact, didn't he!?) notwithstanding, Sorry I Make You Lush runs on fresh sounds and non-drowsy wit. The fact that Vibert can remain so current without drastically altering his sound is a testament to his durability as an artist.
