A veteran of the club scene for over a decade, journalist, producer and BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris 'Coco' Mellor has now taken on the monumental task of breathing new life into the somewhat tired genre of chillout. Musically, it has to be said that Next Wave is unremarkable, largely made up of such staple sounds as dubby basslines, tinkling pianos and floating drums. What really gives it an edge is the fact that Coco has assembled a glittering, if highly unlikely, group of guest vocalists to bring his airy compositions to life. Literary and intellectual pretensions are well to the fore, as writer Iain Banks provides a spoken word recitation from his novel Canal of Dreams, while polemicist Noam Chomsky also pops up to speak a few glib words about global revolution. Elsewhere the Glaswegian country siren Monica Queen oozes sensual languor on her three vocal contributions, while Nick Cave performs an eerily spectral version of the Velvet Underground's Sunday Morning. As you can imagine, it all makes for a very mixed bag, with as many duds as successes. But it's an ambitious, entertaining album, full of fascinating ideas - and Coco deserves credit for having the nerve to push the boat out a little.
