The Dining Rooms - Numero Deux (2001)

The Dining Rooms merge downbeat trip-hop with darkly cinematic effects and melodies, a subgenre with an immense cache of cool to it, but also a lengthy list of acts in practice. Accompanying a press release that cites DJ Shadow and Ennio Morricone, Numero Deux certainly won't disappoint those looking for something to tide them over until the next Thievery Corporation record. What it lacks, however, is either an original style of music or a clever way of arranging what's been heard before. The opener, "Pure & Easy," is the only production worthy of compilation, the rest of the tracks being little more than simplistic ideas or genre crossovers with nothing to endear them to listeners. Probably not a bad record to enjoy ignoring while in a coffee shop, but definitely not an album worthy of real attention. © John Bush