Raves

Liquid Blue’s “Supernova” commences with the India-tinged pop of “Kashmir” and moves from there into the more deeply hip-hop but still faintly world flavored “Show Me Love.” “If You Gotta Ask” returns to the first track’s blatant blend of eastern and western textures, though with a lighter approach. And the title track kicks off with gentle ethnic percussiveness which switches into pacy mysticpop stylings. “Pretend” moves the listener deeper into exotic territory, old world sounds updating to fresh modern dance rock. “Rhythm of Love” is infectious, energetic ethnotrance with vocals and “Real” maintains the ethnic tones of the music but a more mid-tempo approach. “Rescue” moves the music in more ballady but still groove-tasty directions. “Arms of Love” returns to the trance beat before “Give Me Back My Heart” softens the pace again and recalls the hip-hop/world fusion. “Can’t Stop It” continues in the hip-hop vein, but the world tones are lessened. “Anything Else But” brings back the east/west hybrid and returns to poppiness. “Making Up” is about equal parts pop, hip-hop and world music and “So Close to Heaven” wraps up the disc on a strong world pop flavor. The ironic thing about this disc is that while it feels, in a way I can’t put my finger on, slightly pedestrian, it is also innovative and engaging and I really enjoyed hearing ancient instruments turned to pop sounds, and there’s no denying the groove. Liquid Blue certainly brings to the table their own flavor and have turned out a solid CD. Three and a half stars.