*** Propellerheads

DECKSANDDRUMSANDROCKANDROLL

(DreamWorks)

If the Crystal Method were initially greeted as America's answer to the Chemical Brothers, then it wouldn't be too far off to welcome Propellerheads as England's response to the Crystal Method. An electro-dynamic duo with roots in Britain's DJ culture, the Props have been known to one-up the frenetic live performances of LA's house-hardened Crystal boys by adding live drums, bass, and Hammond organ to their four-turntable attack. None of which matters much on CD, where DJs Alex Gifford and Will White are just as loopy, floppy, and, well, synthetic as the next techno outfit.

But where the Chems are BPM junkies and the Method just wanna sample you into submission, Propellerheads are down with the old school, as in hip-hop science class and the Hipster Comp 101 soundtracker John Barry. DECKSANDDRUMS offers a lot of the former, including a boisterous cameo by De La Soul and a middling one from the dispirited Jungle Brothers, and a tasteful taste of the latter, including an amusing cut-and-paste collaboration with James Bond composer David Arnold (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) and a guest spot by Shirley Bassey, the Welsh singer who sang the themes to Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever. The name of that tune: "History Repeats."

-- Matt Ashare