Pitchfork

Since DJ Shadow's brilliant 1996 debut, Endtroducing, his name has become synonymous with dark beats, eerie samples, and fresh experimentalism. Mo' Wax Records founder James Lavelle, on the other hand, is recognized as a real ideas-man with a great head for business. After the release of Shadow's debut, the two decided to collaborate. UNKLE is the result.

Since Lavelle can't play a note of music, most of the actual studio work was left to Shadow who brings his atmospheric sound to Psyence Fiction, one of the most anticipated albums of the year. The record jumps all over the map; one minute you're listening to bottom-heavy big beat, the next you're swimming in the pool at old lady trip-hop's house. But despite Psyence Fiction's eclecticism, Shadow and Lavelle were able to maintain direction, creating a chilling excursion into a land of ethereal keyboard loops, dramatic string sections, and serious-ass rhythm assaults.

Psyence Fiction also boasts several brilliant collaborations with rock superstars, some of which comprise a few of the record's greatest moments: Metallica bassist Jason Newsted goes head- to- head with the Beastie Boys' Mike Diamond on "Celestial Annihilation," a hard-hitting rap number with a shimmering lunar backdrop; the Verve's Richard Ashcroft was brought in for vocals on the gloomy "Lonely Soul"; Alice Temple lends her soulful imagery to "Bloodstain", which seems almost four-dimensional in parts; and Radiohead's Thom Yorke adds his trademark angstful melancholy to the amazing and theatrical "Rabbit In Your Headlights," a song which contains one of the most heartbreaking vocal samples in the history of music.

Whereas most electronic records won't do much for those not into the genre's breakbeats and Atari-esque sound effects, Psyence Fiction comes through as both a genius piece of electronic music history and a remarkable pop album. Friends, UNKLE is for everybody.