Like an angry thunderstorm dissipating into still winds and humid temperatures, the free jazz and DJ squabble of Optometry opens like gangbusters then slowly spirals into more meditative moods. Manning laptop, kalimba and turntable, New York DJ/theorist DJ Spooky stretches and shifts the free-jazz ramblings of the Matthew Shipp quartet like a sea captain navigating a treacherous ocean. Spooky is as much an improviser as Shipp and crew, adding atmospheric samples, gentle melodies and laptop mayhem at will. Beat poetry by Carl Hancock Rux adds hip-hop edge and Spooky still opts for pretentious song titles ("Reactive Switching Strategies for the Control of Uninhabited Air"), but you definitely get the feeling that something fresh is happening here. Optometry sure ain't dance music, and it's too funky for free-jazz purists, but it's just right for DJ Spooky's subliminal mind music. -Ken Micallef.

Thanks to some radio play for "2Wicky" (from their debut album, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular), Hooverphonic won mainstream attention and early admission into the trip-hop pantheon. But this Belgian group's sound was always closer to the warm etherealness and pop aspirations of bands like Australia's Single Gun Theory than the wispy experimentalism of Portishead. Well, they'll probably still be labeled a trip-hop band, but Blue Wonder Power Milk is essentially an electronica-tinged symphonic pop album-and a very strong one, at that. The breathy coo of new vocalist Geike Arnaert melds effortlessly with the languid beats of tracks like "Club Montepulciano" and "Eden" as well as with the more muscular drum & bass of "Battersea". In fact, almost all the songs-many of which are augmented by simple string arrangements-possess a beguiling beauty guaranteed to keep your finger on the repeat button. Highly recommended. -Steve Landau Thanks to the radio ubiquity of "2Wicky" (from their debut album, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular), Hooverphonic won mainstream attention and early admission into the trip-hop pantheon. But this Belgian group's sound was always closer to the warm etherealness and pop aspirations of bands like Australia's Single Gun Theory than the wispy experimentalism of Britain's Portishead. Well, they'll probably still be labeled a trip-hop band, but Blue Wonder Power Milk is essentially an electronica-tinged symphonic pop album-and a very strong one, at that. The breathy coo of new vocalist Geike Arnaert melds effortlessly with the languid beats of tracks like "Club Montepulciano" and "Eden" as well as with the more muscular drum & bass of "Battersea. [+]

Loop Guru were Sam Dodson and Dave Muddyman, who rejoiced on record under the nom-de-plumes of Salman Gita and Jamuud. Gita was a refugee from the punk scene, Jamuud a former editor of a guide to World Music who collected tapes of ethnic music from Africa and the Far East. Together, they made dance-trance music for mid-90s ravers. However, they also issued a series of more ambient works under the Catalogue Of Desires series, the first two in cassette only form, the third on CD. Catalogue Of Desires weaves an alluring, free-floating tapestry of tape loops, birdsong, Balinese music, programmed rhythms, tribal drumming and spoken word samples. Loop Guru are tongue-in-cheek in their approach to their music, but never sacrilegious. Rather, they take a certain anarchic glee in defying Western cultural myopia and revelling in the alternative musical treasures the planet has to offer. -David Stubbs.