HiM - ?

They may have started out under the dub umbrella, but HiM, the portal through which California-based Doug Scharin pushes his sonic envelope, are now a very different animal. Over 15 years they have picked up members here, lost others there, and grabbed studio time whenever they could between other committments. Such is the life of the instrumental hired hand. More recently, HiM seem to have settled on a trans-Pacific line-up that borrows members from Tokyo band Ultra Living. Concordantly, their eleventh album is un-locatable, standing at a crowded intersection between jazz, Latin, Afro-beat and reggae. It's no accident that the opening track is called Creole then, or that the album title is a Japanese character pronounced 'hmmmm'. Pretentious maybe, but this subtle collection asks you to leave your preconceptions at the door, and enjoy the post-everything beast that HiM have become. Either that or save it for your next aspirational dinner party. [Nick Mitchell]