March 12 2003

In the world of hip-hop, a good beat can cover up the failings of a second-rate MC, or in the case of Unagi's instrumental tracks, it can eliminate the need for an MC altogether. Unagi's genius is in the way he puts together his collages; not only are the samples old school and rare as hell – the techniques used on this album are equally archaic. According to legend, Unagi, also known as Brolin Winning, records each track measure by measure into a four-track recorder – screw the new-school samplers; these beats are hand-crafted bit by bit and laced with drum-machine sounds RZA or MF Doom would get all teary-eyed about. Not only that, but apparently this Unagi dude built his four-track from twine, couch springs, pebbles, and straight-up voodoo magic. You can almost visualize Clint Eastwood and Pam Grier or Ted Danson and Christopher Walken (Danson and Walken, for short), settling down for a session of dirty lovemaking, or – during some of the more intensely sexual tracks – possibly even all four of them together. Hot. You could call Unagi instrumental hip-hop, or you could call it an old-school crate-digging mishmash, but when it comes down to it, these are great grooves for maxing and relaxing; each beat is perfect on its own, or a gold mine for an MC. (Mike McGuirk)

Loretta Lynch
Loretta Lynch (self-released)

Don't let the name fool you – or the late-'80s black-nail-polish-and-corsets Cali girlie-rocker style you used to glimpse on Haight Street, at the odd Sea Hags show, or at the Stone. High-handed lynchings are the last thing on Bay Area quartet Loretta Lynch's collective mind. Even their namesake, that coal miner's daughter from Butcher Hollow, shows more "Don't Come Home Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)"-ish, Republican-soccer-mom gumption. Instead these gals just want to warble. And they want to do it sweet, soaring, and unabashed in three- and four-part harmonies – as if they were the Lennon Sisters, auditioning for a revival of Rent.