Palookaville CD

Working with Blur on their Think Tank album clearly made an impact on Norman Cook. Palookaville, his fourth outing as cartoon dance hero Fatboy Slim, has a distinctly beatnik theme running through it. It also relies more on real instruments and proper songs, rather than Cooks laptop and fun floor fillers, swapping instant thrills for something longer lasting. That said its unmistakably a Fatboy Slim record, and a pretty phenomenal one at that. The trademark beach party anthems are still there. The Latino shake of Wonderful Night, El Bebe Masoquistas electrofunk and single Slash Dot Dash with its snarling surf guitar all prove that theres life in Bigbeat yet. But its the mellower tracks that standup to constant rewinds. North West Three, a dreamy twilight tune dedicated to wife Zoe Ball, is a gorgeously romantic swayer and plinky hobo ditty Put It Back Together delivers a ramshackle shot of optimism in the Think Tank style, complete with a drowsy Damon Albarn. Meanwhile, Long Way From Home the moody subbass rumble from the O2 ad and road movie rocker Push and Shove find the middle ground and demonstrate that Cooks imagination is as active as ever. All the usual cutnpaste musical bricabracs there. All the wackiness and cool grooves remain. Its just that this time they sound just as good in the living room as they do on the dancefloor.