Rancho Relaxo Allstars Live At Luv Parade Volume II Rancho Relaxo/Disko B 8/98 [DB 71CD] SRD The Rancho Relaxo Allstars follow up their 1996 "Hygiene Mental" album with a second batch. So who are these Ranchers, anyway? Rancho Relaxo label head Abe Duque is the head wrangler, ably assisted here by fellow New Yorkers Dietrich Schoenemann, Taylor Deupree, and John Selway, plus Austria's Jochen Reiter and contributions from Stroboscopic, Mika Vaino, and Jimi Tenor. While there are some percussion-based cuts on this release, this is not DJ oriented, unless you're working the chillout crowd. What you get is a messy jambalaya of songs that vary from washes of synth that develop into eerie psychouts to minimal 606 twitches that develop a dance of their own. This isn't something that will immediately grab your attention, best to let it seep into your pores. With no track credits, titles, or times, this is simply a flurry of sound to which you either submit or try again later. By the way, the specific party at Germany's Love Parade at which the Ranchos were to perform and record this live was cancelled. Perhaps "Live From The Seedy Underbelly Of New York" wasn't as catchy. --Andrew Duke Back to album reviews index