Loco

Is making music a way of life? Or is life a way of making music?

Yes, friends, we're talking Fun Lovin' Criminals here - the Noo Yawk trio who first came to notice with their real-life narrative about a drug-induced bank robbery and subsequent flight from the NYPD.

'Scooby Snacks' might be a long time past, but FLC have continued to mix their lives with their craft. One minute, they're talking politics ('King Of New York'), the next Huey is crooning sweetly about how Barry White saved his life ('Love U').

The new album, Loco, proves no exception to this rule. On 'Run Daddy Run', American Vice-President Dick Cheney gets the FLC treatment. "Sometimes I speak my mind plainly," sings Huey before adding, "But I'm not a dick like Cheney". Well, that's that cleared up, then.

While other targets include MTV and American rap artists, Huey's husky monotone is usually far too chilled out to venture into anything close to unappealing didacticism. Trumpets, guitar, keyboards and harmonica add rhythmical flourishes to offset his low-key drone brilliantly, particularly on tunes such as 'Run Daddy Run' and 'Microphone Fiend'.

Lyrically, the fifteen tracks often conjure up poignant images and stream-of-consciousness intrigues. A world-weary Huey sings on 'She's My Friend', "I used to think a lot/ I used to fall in love/With shit like subway trains".

The title track has a superbly mellow progression, while 'The Biz' utilises female vocalists to sugar-sweet kitsch effect against a Beck-like backdrop of vibrant drumming, sparkly effects and explosive dynamics.

FLC don't always play to their strengths, though. When they lose the tension inherent in their best work - that of the flat-toned voice versus the rhythmic injection of eclectic, jazzy arrangements - the results are at best mixed and occasionally downright awful.

On 'Dickholder', Huey comes on like a weird version of Garth Brooks going ballistic to some frenetic 12-bar blues. 'Little Song' sees him try the exact opposite, singing like an exceptionally sad Garth Brooks about how "life keeps going on", while the band play mournfully in the background. Both tracks are tailor-made for the edit button.

The majority of the rest of the tracks on Loco, such as 'Half A Block', 'Bump' and 'My Sin', operate as inferior versions of the standout tunes. Jazzy, bluesy and always rhythmic, they pass the time pleasantly without ever threatening to change the world.

This album is best played in a car, with four people cruising the streets of a city on their way to nowhere in particular, but safe in the knowledge that the soundtrack to their lives is a cool one.

Chilled.