New Gold Standard 2, The

[coll]: The New Gold Standard 2
Reviewed by Sadie O. 12/9/09
“Fun Electro Funk Pop” is what Bill wrote on the cover, and I think that pretty much says it – although there’s some nice Latin stuff, Bhangra, Reggae and sitar funk, too. The Fort Knox Five crew is from DC, and has put out this comp of their friends (nice when you can count Afrika Bambaata among your friends! 15 varieties of funk.
FCCs on track 15 – the rest is clean to my ears. Ilike 3, 9, 13 best, but it’s pretty much all terrific.
1. 3:33 ***swingy downtempo funk strut, a bit jazzy and mamboesque, fun vocals. Just a soupçon of sitar.
2. 3:48 **midtempo swishy hip shaker, funk vocals.
3. 3:42 ****slinky funky downtempo crawl with bloops. That’s “SHIFT” he keeps saying, BTW.
4. 4:24 **uptempo jazzy bop, all about the bass and sax. Instrumental, infectious as hell.
5. 3:33 ***latin-Caribbean horns and percussion, uptempo, vocals in Spanish, yummy!
6. 4:13 ***odd but fun mashup of club electronica and Bhangra. The basic idea is nothing new, but this seems deeper in the House than the usual.
7. 4:00 **Reggae! Neet! Uptempo, with both emotional singing and DJ toasting.
8. 4:25 ***electronics and vocal beatboxing intro, uptempo electronics, rather trance-y, with the promised sitar.
9. 4:42 ****downtempo hardcore electronic funk. Gnarly!
10. 4:50 ***relaxed midtempo swing with sitar – cover of a Gordon Lightfoot hit.
11. 4:38 **upbeat but relaxed 70’s soul with pretty female vocals.
12. 3:44 ***downtempo but upbeat cumbia. Instrumental con AZUCAR!
13. 3:48 ****downtempo SUPERFLY funk with a hint of hip-hop scratch ‘n’ sniff, sexy female vocals.
14. 3:35 *dreamy squooshes and midtempo trance groove. Long fade to crickets and whispers.
15. 5:16 FCCs: “fuckry” “fuck” **sweet downtempo cumbia, quavery singing and hip hop rap.