Hide

Giving folks like Steve Aoki, Junkie XL, and David Guetta some serious competition, Italian producer Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo gets with the "star-studded guest list" program on the Bloody Beetroots' sophomore album, Hide, but take that heavy metal-like cover artwork seriously because this is the angry electro equivalent. Call it dance-punk, aggressive electro-house, or the most excessive EDM ever, the Beetroots like to rip the speakers with crisp shards of live guitar, sampled guitar, and over-compressed synth, and with four-on-the-floor drumbeats thudding and booming underneath. For safety's sake, run to the bunker before the aptly titled "Raw" comes on with its dinosaur stomp and wall of guitars, but like Dada Life, Skrillex, and even Fatboy Slim, Rifo digs a good joke on top of his floor-filler and a guest appearance by Tommy Lee from Mￃﾃￂﾶtley Crￃﾃￂﾼe ("What the f*ck is this? F*ckin' disco music?? What's next, some cheesy little lead synth?," and then, there is) is nothing but. The biggest news is that there's a Beatle present as Sir Paul McCartney brings his frequent collaborator, producer/musician Youth, along for a moody and flashy possible James Bond movie theme called "Out of Sight," and while the Twitter set might not get it, Peter Frampton showing up with his trademark voice-box effect is a squawky delight the old-timers will embrace on "The Beat." P-Thugg from Chromeo is a perfect fit for the aggro-funk highlight "Please Baby," and then there's the album's secret weapon, the chilled "Glow in the Dark," where vocalist Sam Sparro yearns like Prince on a lonely Friday night right round 1999, album side number three. That's a lot of choice material, but the elaborate effort becomes overwhelming at 15 cuts long, maybe even pummeling. Carve out a killer EP or sign up for the full, exhausting experience; either way, Hide is an overdriven thrill ride with smart use of star power. Every Venom-masked raver should know. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi