THE STIX

''A livingroom hush'' and its innovative style became an instant favorite among music fans and the album sold rapidly over 15,000 copies in Norway alone.It won also the Norwegian music award Alarm Prize in 2002 and the same year it was crowned as ''Jazz Album of the Year'' by BBC listeners.Jaga Jazzist then signed a deal with the Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound, following the deal with a huge number of live shows, which were mostly succesful.They draw the interest of Ninja Tune, who came in a deal with Smalltown Supersound to have the rights to release the band's next album.As a result, ''The stix'' was originally released in 2002 on Smalltown Supersound and the following year vinyl and CD editions were released by Ninja Tune.Ivar Johansen and Jorgen Munkeby had been replaced by Andreas Schei (keyboards) and Ketil Einarsen (flute, keyboards, percussion).

Second album by Jaga Jazzist appears to follow a similar path as their debut with lots of Jazz and Electronic elements, although a bit more restrained.The problem is that the tracks are sounding pretty similar, combining jazzy improvisations with modern drum programming and Trip Hop beats, while there are also a fair amount of Avant Garde and Chamber Music traces via the piano and synthesizer lines.''The stix'' lacks the rather more diverse sound of Jaga Jazzist's debut, but the music remains refreshing, clean and charming.You get the feeling that many of its moments were parts of a Soundtrack, having an intense cinematic flavor, and the executions are pretty cool with abstract jams, laid-back ambiences and dominant Electronic showering.Lots of saxes and vibraphone strengthen the jazzy flavor of the album, which is mainly built around wind instruments, music effects and keyboards, offering contemporary instrumentals.The mass of delicate melodies of ''A livingroom hush'' are rather absent with the band choosing a more difficult and complex path in this album, which still contains some pretty adventurous and well-performed music.

A little dissapointment compared to the band's monumental debut.Still ''The stix'' is a fine combination of Jazz, Electronic and Chamber Music with an intense instrumental background, which will please fans of original, contemporary-styled music.Recommended.