Slower, smoother, and more soulful than Portishead and less pop-oriented than the Sneaker Pimps, Morcheeba have an alluringly dark sound that nevertheless remains accessible. As their debut, Who Can You Trust?, illustrates, the trio has a keen sense of how to make a pop melody seem dangerous and foreign by having it crawl out of the murk of creeping beats and ominous samples. Although the group lacks the visionary spark of Tricky and Portishead, and their songs aren't as bracing as the Sneaker Pimps, Morcheeba have a distinctive, idiosyncratic sound that makes Who Can You Trust? entrancing. Although the latter half of the album tends to sound a little samey, without many beats or hooks to distinguish each song, the album remains a hauntingly atmospheric -- and quite terrific -- debut.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo