Thievery Corporation
The Mirror Conspiracy


4.0
excellent

Review

by aok USER (33 Reviews)
February 15th, 2011 | 30 replies


Release Date: 2000 | Tracklist

Review Summary: A trip-hop album, with sounds from all corners of the globe, guaranteed to take you on a ride

The Mirror Conspiracy is the 2nd LP of Thievery Corporation, a Washington, D.C.-based recording artist and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza, Eric Hilton and a group of supporting artists who give off an easy going, jazzy feel not unlike Zero 7 or Air. Yet Thievery Corporation takes a great deal of their influence from the beats heard in India, Brazil, France and Japan as well, making them hard to pinpoint but really easy to listen to, whether that be in a bar/lounge or with a book in the den.

Even if you don't know this album, you'll most likely recognize Lebanese Blond when you hear it as it was featured in the famed Garden State soundtrack – and rightfully so. The hypnotic track, whose name comes from a slang term used to describe particularly high purity Lebanese hashish, manages to gently twist you to each of its whims, keeping you guessing and smiling throughout. Pam Bricker's gentle vocals perfectly match the sitar of Rob Myers, creating a hook that never gets old.

Pam Bricker is also featured on both the Brazilian influenced Air Battacuda and the eponymous Mirror Conspiracy, which could scarcely be more different from one another. In the former, a brazillian drumbeat serves as a rhythmic diversion with Bricker showing she can be a minimalist, fitting in on an as needed bases. In the latter, however, after a low key intro, Bricker’s voice grabs your attention as she comes in and later repeatedly bemoans, ‘All my heart, all of your tears – Our whole world, is smoke and mirrors,’ tantalizingly gripping you with a severe sense of longing and loss.

Another pair of gems on the album are the two French tracks featuring the vocals of Lou Lou, those being Le Monde and Shadows of Ourselves. Though Le Monde is a slow paced and more hypnotic track and Shadows of Ourselves has a more head-bobbing beat, both make perfect use of Lou Lou’s voice as she shows off her range and harmonizes around the percussion and electronic beats that surround her – lingering in your head long after she has stopped singing.

Also worthy of mention is Indra, a song that perhaps typifies the entire album. Making use of a fairly minimalistic style, Indra has enough of a beat to keep you going throughout, yet somewhere in the middle you wake up in a daze, dimly aware of some mystical experience and a vague recollection that a rousing voice and quite a number of foreign instruments have taken you on a trip.

Lastly are the opening and closing tracks of the album. Treasures, the opening track, has overt Jamaican reggae dub vocals on top of a matching electronic beat, while Guide for I and I establishes a beat long before ‘jah jah jah’ starts ringing in the background. The two tracks open and close the album perfectly, sending the message that though this may be an album that could be heard at a lounge in Paris or New York, this is the type of album that could just as easily be flipped on at a reggae club on the other side of the world.

A few mediocre tracks and a lack of their own true sound are the only things keeping this from being a classic, yet after all of the mesmerizing vocalists have sung their chords, all those beats from all corners of the world have finished and all those elements loosely dubbed trip hop and acid jazz no longer emanate from your speakers, you can’t help but want to go through it all again and again.

4.1 / 5



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user ratings (126)
4
excellent


Comments:Add a Comment 
aok
February 16th 2011


4626 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Put a lot into this one and didn't even get around to the Ella Fitzgerald sample on 'Tomorrow' or 'Focus on Sight', which was one of my favorites. Let me know what you guys think...



Also note that this is a review of the 2006 reissue containing the bonus tracks of Bario Alto and Guide for I and I

Deviant.
Staff Reviewer
February 16th 2011


32288 Comments


You don't need to put genres in quotation marks like you do in the summary

has overt Jamaican reggae dub vocals on top of a matching electronica beat,


Lose the "a" at the end of electronica

this may be an electronica album that will be heard at a lounge in Paris or New York, this is the type of album that could just as easily be flipped on at a reggae club on the other side of the world.


Lose electronica, and change "will be heard" to "could be heard"

relativeworld
February 16th 2011


289 Comments


Good , Sounds like something that I ll enjoy !
informative review pal !

Love all your recommended albums, especially Ali Fakra Toure's Savane ! though there's no apparent similarity ...there s no rule that there must be

Pos'd !

aok
February 16th 2011


4626 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

thanks rel -- ali farka is really nothing like thievery corp as you said, but for some reason i thought to recommend him alongside these guys. mirror conspiracy's worth your time and suitable to most any mood



was hoping thievery corp would get more love from sputnik. if anyone's still reading, more feedback would be greatly appreciated

aok
February 16th 2011


4626 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

(oops double post)

Deviant.
Staff Reviewer
February 16th 2011


32288 Comments


This is Sputnik - if it ain't Shadow, Massive Attack or Portishead they haven't heard of it (that isn't to say that all the users don't have a better understanding of trip hop because there are a few who know their shit, but for the most part......well, yeah)

Polymath
May 6th 2011


3836 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Yes lads this is some ill shit. If I ever open up a hotel I'll be sure to make it its main soundtrack.

eggsvonsatan
May 7th 2011


1087 Comments


Seeing this band tomorrow. Super pumped. I never would've thought to call them trip hop, but I guess it works.

Polymath
May 7th 2011


3836 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

That'd be an interesting concert, let me know how it goes.

aok
May 7th 2011


4626 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

die eier von satan haben gesprochen.



hoping to see them in a couple months. should be great fun

relativeworld
May 11th 2011


289 Comments


Hey just saw this comment!
Lucky you amigo !

aok
October 24th 2011


4626 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

je pense bien que le monde est calculé

aok
January 12th 2012


4626 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

reappreciating the title track. it's still quite excellent

VlacDrac
July 14th 2013


2672 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Amazing album to smoke weed with.

VlacDrac
July 14th 2013


2672 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Don't get me wrong, it's a great album that I enjoy sober too.

TwigTW
October 18th 2013


3939 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Didn't realize Thievery were American--just assumed they were French from their musical influences.

p4p
July 31st 2016


1959 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

yeah these guys are pretty classy and knowledgeable. very un american.

chinesewhispers
July 31st 2016


4767 Comments


This album is rly good one of the worthwhile finds from my brief trip hop excursion

OmairSh
May 26th 2020


17733 Comments


Lebanese Blonde is a jamm

parksungjoon
May 26th 2020


47231 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

band/album are good



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