** UNKLE

PSYENCE FICTION

(Polydor/Mo'Wax)

Meet the men from UNKLE: Josh Davis, a Left Coast turntable trickster who records under the nom de hip-hop DJ Shadow; and James Lavelle, ringleader of Brit-hop homestead Mo'Wax. They share an abiding passion for freaky noise and old-skool beats, which they've parlayed into a global hip-hop hootenanny. The oddball sound sculptures of Davis, whose instrumental . . . Endtroducing is Mo'Wax's top seller, make heads happy, copyright lawyers nervous, and Puff Daddy envious. Meanwhile, Lavelle flips through his Rolodex to create Psyence Fiction's schizo starpower.

Setting Richard (the Verve) Ashcroft's messianic wail amid strings and shuffle beats, "Lonely Soul" is reminiscent of a certain Nike commercial -- a sort of bitter breakbeat symphony. Veteran rapper Kool G Rap is wheeled out for some street cred, and Beastie Mike D's flatulent cameo misses the Uncle Tomfoolery of his main gig. Thom (Radiohead) Yorke's eerie premonition of Christian suburbanites on "Rabbit in Your Headlights" provides the disc's chilling climax. Lacking freestyle funk, UNKLE achieve something closer to Massive Attack ambiance than Wu-Tang wild style. Davis's languorous pace, reminiscent of mid-'70s lounge jazz, is for headphones, not the jeep. Undeniably a skilled, amusing arranger, he isn't yet attuned to song or beat craft.

-- Patrick Bryant