Nesian Mystik: Polysaturated

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * *)

The joke of the Rumba pop festival last weekend wasn't Pink's throat problems but having Nesian Mystik so far down the bill.

Here was the No 1 pop outfit in the land relegated below various imports who can't get a CD pirated in these parts.

Oh well, it's a humble beginning to what will be the summer of Nesian Mystik - because this is one sunny, funny, funky, hooky collection of hip-hopped high-harmony pop which is already spreading faster than the painted apple moth.

The equally party-hearty infectious first two singles Nesian Style and It's On are a good indication of the general mood within (once you're past the wry comedy intro which gets a bookend with an extended radio skit near the end).

But they also manage to veer towards Che-Fu territory on A Brief Reflection and towards Che-Fu himself - he guests on Operation F.O.B., a track which could have sat just as easily on his last album and which neatly borrows a bar or two from early hit Chains. Along the way they do reggae with style (Unity), borrow some of Craig David's smooth'n'groovy mojo (Let Me In) and deliver a deft rejection of imported gangsta hip-hop values (Roots Discussion).

Though their celebration of the local stuff N.Z.H.I.P.H.O.P. tries a little hard in its mega-production ambitions and comes out sounding a little, well, Will Smith.

Oh, well. For the most part, Polysaturated is quite phenomenal. It deserves to become a phenomenon.