Various Artists, Buzzin’ Fly, Volume 2: Replenishing Music For The Modern Soul

Musician/DJ Ben Watt has been making music since the early eighties in the folk-turned-electro pop duo Everything But The Girl, but his more recent offerings are experiments in late-night club scenes. On this collection, the second in the Buzzin’ Fly series, Watt shows that he has an ear and a knack for weaving together tunes that flow. In the liner notes, he says, “I wanted to get back to the meaning of house. The modern relentless pumping DJ set bores me.” The problem with any DJ set, however, is that repetition — and that’s also this collection’s biggest fault. There are plenty of times when an extended clip is welcome, for example, mostly late at night or very early in the morning, but never on an album. Thankfully, these shortcomings really do little to hamper the set, and it contains enough beats interspersed with chilled synths and subdued raps to have broad appeal. Watt’s at his best with Tracey Thorn in EBTG, but this album shows his other talents well.