Grade: B | Genre: Power Pop Summary: The Antidote is like a budding couple in the second month of a relationship, still searching out each other's tastes and starting to see those annoying habits. They're just not fully comfortable being themselves yet. Morcheeba's The Antidote is a clever ticket prompting us to hop aboard a train charted for long ago. Its songs seem sealed in a pocket of time circling the late 60s, forever caught in a dance with the Mamas and the Papas. It's highly cultivated pop that slides around in your head like jet-powered lounge music. The arrangements are unique experiments in musical fusion, and Daisy Martey's vocals are quietly overpowering as they sharpen the edges to these compelling beats. The Antidote signals a fresh sunrise gleaming on a band eager to rebuild its castle.

My initial exposure to Morcheeba was Big Calm in my DJing days back in college. It was a solid album, but when you are trying to figure out how to survive on $20 a week, if it's not a must-have, it usually falls through the cracks. They also contributed a very impressive track, to the slick compilation Acoustic that slipped them back into my line of focus.

This is my way of saying that there will be no lamenting the recent loss of Skye Edwards from the group. What happened to Skye you ask? In a recent interview with X-Press, Paul Godfrey said there were tensions in the band as they grew past their original set of expectations. Godfrey said "We'd taken it much further than we ever expected to and Skye wanted to do her solo thing, her profile had gotten really high, but creatively she was pretty stifled by us guys. We were the ones laying down the law on how the things were and it was really important for her to expand and do something different." This wasn't just a case of Skye being a devilishly Diva. The brothers were at each other's throats as well. With no publicity to speak of, the band broke-up for a time. Paul and Ross eventually mended fences, reforming Morcheeba. They recruited Daisy Martey to front the group after hearing her sing for Noonday Underground.

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"Like a Military Coup" is dipped head first up to its ankles in the 5th Dimension's new age tune "Aquarius." It begins with ethereal space blips as the vocals drop in to form a sauntering rhythmic hippie charm. "Ten Men" sounds like it should be a Vietnam War anthem with its kitchy background vocals and loose guitars revving on your heels to goose you. The album's opening track, "Wonders Never Cease," doubles as the band's first single and the most enticing song on the album. It is the perfect welcome to Martey's voice as she shows that she's got her own bit of sultry, goddess just waiting to escape. The guitars string together over steady drumbeats to form a web of sound so thick, cultured and inviting. The synergy of the group never sounded better and gives us a taste of great things sure to come.

There are a couple selections that just don't quite catch. The title track is too tepid and reserved to really say much. It also stretches out a yawning 6:30 minutes. If you are going to break free of the chains of the traditional 4-minute song, at least make sure it's compelling enough to fill the space like "Living Hell," which does so nicely. While "Lighten Up" isn't a lackluster number by any means, it feels out of context here. Its formula seems to be more of a traditional ballad that doesn't want to play nice with Martey's sonic punctuations and the band's 60s charm. It's not completely out of place in this collection though you do wonder what made them jar this otherwise fluid thought.

The Antidote is like a budding couple in the second month of a relationship, still searching out each other's tastes and starting to see those annoying habits. They're just not fully comfortable being themselves yet. While the new Morcheeba lacks the fluid ease that was inheriant after years of working with Skye, the potential is certainly there for great things. Martey's husky voice is very distinctive, draping over the Godfrey brothers rhythms very easily. It proves a good fit in what could have been an awkward transition. The true Morcheeba faithful will undoubtably bemoan life without Skye, but it's time to move on and rediscover this band anew. If you can divorce yourself from what you think Morcheeba 'should be' then The Antidote will prove to be a pleasant surprise to continue your love affair with this innovative group.

Morcheeba's The Antidote is still a delicacy for us Americans since it can only be picked up on import. Check out All of MP3 to get your fix for a very reasonable price. Also, be sure to listen up for this week's featured track "Living Hell" along with the best of cutting edge music being featured now on Live 365's Innovative Radio.