Pitchfork

And so DJ Shadow, a white guy from San Francisco, sets out to prove to the world that he's got skillz. He sold me in the first five minutes. This record is incredible. It's like nothing I've ever heard before. It's like a compilation of weird old songs all fucked up and mixed together.

The first single, "Building Steam With a Grain of Salt," starts the album out with a familiar- sounding horror movie piano loop and drums that consist more of treble than bass. Hmm... something's not quite right. "Man, I just got my car modified to bounce and installed a $9,455 sound system! I want some bass!" you might say. Not necessary. This album impresses by other means than loud, repetitious thumping.

Throughout the record, Shadow samples and scratches off a number of different obscure pieces of vinyl and a few other media sources as well. You might recall the "Transmission 1, 2 & 3" pieces from John Carpenter's film, "Prince of Darkness." And I think I hear a number of other sounds I recognize from rap records I used to check out from the public library as a kid.

Consisting mostly of hip-hop beats and retro sound effects, Endtroducing makes for a great listen. In fact, I bet I'll never get sick of it.