Hailing from a place previously sculpted out by the likes of Talvin Singh and Broadcast, Luke Shepherd and Derek O’Sullivan’s Mescalito moniker took up where most trip-hop left off, incorporating a blithe Ibizan spirit into the cold breakbeats of Bristol, England. “Rambla” could have been ruthlessly corny, stocked with cabaret act vocals and the slow warping sound of Café del Mar, and yet it was lush and often touching, with plenty of acid jazz, chill-out, and English indie rock elements to go around, making for a less obvious take on Groove Armada’s “At the River.” The rest never reached such a high point, but One Path in a Million remained a flawed, endearing debut of warm downtempo upgrowth. – Dean Carlson
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