Sophomore Slump

Rooty is British production duo Basement Jaxx's second full-length release, the first being Remedy. What the listener gets with this release is a pop-house style comparable to that of Daft Punk's Discovery album. Basement Jaxx's take on modern house music seems a bit less innovative than Daft Punk's, however.

There are a number of musical styles evident on the album. Elements of everything from rhythm and blues and breakbeat to house and disco can be heard throughout the record's thirteen tracks (two of which are nothing more than twenty-second interludes). Speaking of time, Rooty clocks in at just under forty-three minutes; extremely short for a full-length release in this, the age of the compact disc.

The opening track is the playful, bubblegum pop number "Romeo", with vocals by Kele Leroc and Corryne. It features an almost teenie-bop sound set to a four-four beat. Just imagine any track from Britney Spears remixed for the dance floor and aimed at fourteen-year-old girls, and you should have a relatively good idea of what this track is all about. Next comes the funk of "Breakaway", featuring the effects-laden vocal performances of Jill Draper, Felix, and Cassie. This is a catchy little track in it's own right, with elements of house, funk, and disco and again set to the cliched four-four beat. "Breakaway", like virtually every other track on Rooty, features highly ordinary, ultimately uninspired lyrics which deserve little mention as to their meaning. Nevertheless, it is one of the most catchy tracks on the record.

Track number three is the R&B-influenced "SFM", short for "sexy feline machine". It is a very short track, falling eleven seconds off of the three minute mark. There isn't much to say about this one. The track has "album filler" written all over it. "Kissalude" is one of the two interludes found on Rooty. It is, for all intents and purposes, merely an a capella version of the only four vocal lines on the following "Jus 1 Kiss".

"Jus 1 Kiss" is musically one of the strongest tracks on the record. This is a neo-disco track that would sound good on the dance floor preceding Daft Punk's "One More Time", for those who are familiar (and if you aren't, you really should get out more). "Broken Dreams" is yet another of the fairly unmemorable and inconsequential tracks found on Rooty. Featured, however, is the trumpet of Quentin Collins, a quasi-breakbeat sound, and vocals by Sha. The track is in the neighborhood of three minutes. Along with the following "I Want U", it is nothing more than album filler.

"Get Me Off" is a somewhat randy R&B-meets-house track. For this album, it is one of the stronger tracks, though average at best. It is a track that, well... slightly intoxicated women may find fun to dance to at 1 or 2am. "Where's Your Head At" follows, with lead vocals by Damien and backing vocals by Erick Morillo, Junior Sanchez, and Micheal Moog. This is the record's single, though again, an average house track at best. It is also one of the longer tracks, at four minutes and forty-three seconds. "Freakalude" is the mainly musical interlude to "Crazy Girl". "Crazy Girl"'s sound is what can be described as somewhat minimal breakbeat with house and R&B inflections. As is the case throughout the record, the lyrics are ultimately forgettable.

"Do Your Thing" is a happy little house track that features piano and the house diva vocals of Elli. "All I Know" can be filed with all of the other album fillers on Rooty. It is, more or less, a heavily R&B-influenced tune, and if you listen closely, you may actually be able to hear an acoustic guitar in the background. Synth chords are heard throughout the track as well.