Musipal

Nobody's record collection is ever truly finished, but you can reach a stage of your life where you can be pretty sure you've got a song to hand for every day of the week and every swoop and soar of the heart and body. But you know some day, some fucker will come along and show up your puny pretence at eclecticism for the shameful husk it truly is - and Luke Vibert (aka Plug, aka Wagon Christ) is that fucker. Listen to the sampleadelic and densely-layered Musipal, Vibert's latest outing under the Wagon Christ moniker since 1998's wonderful Tally Ho!, and you get the distinct impression that his vinyl library spans continents rather than a creaking 6' set of meek MFI shelving.

Musipal is an unashamedly joyous hip hop, skip and jump-up trawl through the history and future of dance music. Leaning more heavily on the drum&bass side than his last two albums, none of its 13 tracks display the usual po-faced earnestness that you'd associate with the genre - 60's cartoon pratfalls jostle for attention with gorgeous soul diva-ism and chunky bass kicks - you know Vibert's playing it as much for laughs as adulation from the headz. 'Receiver' is equal parts John Barry on skis and Bukem on brown acid, and 'Thick Stew' does exactly what is says on the tin, packed full of distorted bleeps and nutritious underwater piano. When the time comes to bring out the funk, Musipal gets its spade and digs in - 'Cris Chana' swiftly escalates into a slinky floor-monster, and 'Bend Over' pitches B-Movie strings 'n' stabs against evangelical Wagon Christian beats to fantastic effect.

As refreshing and exotic as a well-mixed mojito, Musipal is a highly intoxicating brew.