Various: Loop.003

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * * * )

This neatly packaged and intelligently compiled, 30-track double CD is the latest in a series from former Wellington magazine publishers Loop. Fortunately, it sounds better than it looks. Its main focus is on capital city exponents of electronica, hip-hop, dub, drum'n'bass, reggae and soul, with tracks from Trinity Roots, Black Seeds, Fat Freddy's Drop, Ebb and Rhian Sheehan. It also draws from further afield, with offerings by Che Fu, Mark De Clive-Lowe, Cloudboy, Pitch Black and Epsilon Blue and Shapeshifter.

While disc-one is the song-stronger and the second half is more of a groove-oriented affair, it is remarkably cohesive for all that variety. And in the end Loop.003 goes beyond being a useful product to one capturing the essence of a musical era. It will probably sound even better come summer.

Label: Loop