One Million Dollars: Energy Stage

Reviewed by RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * )

Now something of an institution on Auckland stages, this funk band might have been forgiven if on their debut album they had simply delivered a recorded version of their dancefloor-friendly live set.

Yes, there are frequent outbursts of wah-wah, chink-a-chink guitars, bubbling bass, and stabbing brass on tracks which are all workout and very little song. But what's satisfying is how they blend their inevitable sunny disposition and influences into songs that are memorable for more than just their perspiration-potential.

Among those are the ballads On This Day and Recovery, the bossa nova-ish Happy Free, and the low-slung Get Off.

Still, in places, like High Places they can come on like a Jamiroquai tribute band. And you suspect, even when they're singing in Portuguese on the Brazilian numbers the lyrics aren't any more substantial than the lightweight rest, though it sure does sound stylish. They're infectious, breezy and bilingual. But for now, that's about it.

(Sugarlicks/BMG)