Very broad spectrum music. Jazz, electronics, samples, rap, rock...you name it, and its in there. Always catchy and rambunctious. This is the new music you have been craving. Get into it.
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The Other Planets 
Discrete Manipulations
(Attention Spaniel Records)
The Other Planets' song "Hector Detector" may become the anthem of every New Orleans musician who doesn't play funk, jazz or lead a brass band. Pinging electronic percussion kicks off the track, then a crunchy bass saxophone creates a seesaw groove that even a head banger could appreciate. Anthony Cuccia, the leader of the group, sings the progressive musician's blues: "Frenchmen Street and nobody cares / The Dragon's Den has got such excellent players / They play a million notes and everybody just stares." 

 
Discrete Manipulations is an unexpected mix of electronic beats, pop melodies, saxophones and samples. While there is nothing radio-friendly about the Other Planets, the group's music sounds more hyperactive than dissonant. "Will You Adhere?" is almost a sing-along, except that the lyrics are barely intelligible. "How's McFatter Doing?" might be the background music at a swank lounge in the next century. The first few bars of "Living in Harmony" start with a buzz-saw funk riff, but the song quickly exchanges the surging beat for spacey atmospheric noise. The unusual instrumentation -- synthesizers, guitars, drums, bass saxophone and vibraphone -- lets the Other Planets jump between genres without ever getting stuck in a single one. 

Experimental groups often sound self-indulgent. A healthy dose of humor, however, keeps Discrete Manipulations from ever feeling like a chore. While lamenting the fate of New Orleans musicians, Cuccia raps, "To sell a record here you have to dance a f--king jig." The Other Planets won't be dancing for their fans, but this strange album certainly deserves some buyers. -- Todd A. Price
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