J*Davey's The Beauty in Distortion/Land of the Lost zips through so many tunnels of experimentation it would have been impractical to try to squeeze them all onto a single disc. Thus, the two-for-one title serves as a signpost, indicating that what you're about to hear is a little of this, some of that and all other possibilities in between. Hailing from Los Angeles, Jack Davey and Brook D'Leau have pieced together an electro-soul hybrid that passes expectations.

The Beauty in Distortion finds the duo cunningly manipulating digital devices, toying with keyboards, drum machines and even lead vocalist Davey's nasal rasp to create a patchwork futuristic funk that Prince, George Clinton and the late J Dilla would surely groove to. “Divisions of Joy” is a glamorous combination of snowy TV racket and out-of-this-world keyboard clamor that would entice anyone to romp. Lead single “Mr. Mister” stomps into club-kid territory, with a drum line that swells and recedes on top of calculated thumps and hand claps, resting only for a few seconds to allow slowpokes to catch their breath.

On Land of the Lost, J*Davey does a quick costume change, wiping off some of the glitter to deliver a hip-hop-centric set of… read more »