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Just when it looked as though mainstream pop and hip-hop had conquered all, with beats from the ubiquitous Neptunes creating the ultimate in computer funk that dominated the ears of serious techno-heads and MTV teens alike, the underground, once dissipated into genre specific camps, came together to up their game and generate their own cross-cultural sounds that didn't have to be tucked away as guilty pleasures. This underground nation "supergroup" demonstrates what can happen when the most open-minded of electronic and hip-hop artists bring their A-game to the studio. Beginning as a collaboration by So-Cal experimental label Plug Research owner Allen Avanessian and virtual crossover boy Jimmy Tamborello (whose Postal Service project with indie star child Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has already scaled over the commercial radio wall), the pair were brought together by German minimalist dub label Scape and offered a cast of players, including Kompakt technician Thomas Fehlmann and some of L.A.'s best programmers, producers, and lyricists to create a hip-hop album that defied convention and defined the new sound of everything. Santa Monica-based DJ Daedelus is paired with horn man Ben Wendel to create digital soundscapes on "Outward Sound," while backpacker faves Shadow Huntaz drop lyrics on the opening combo punch of "Then Again" and "Back Before." Techno ace John Tejada slows his usual minimal bleep on "Dunno," while former Anticon and current Warp Records solo mouth Beans continues to make friends on "Jaw Modulation." With this diverse cast of characters, the web of collaboration and sonic diversity could spin off forever. But under Avanessian's watchful presence, the sonic palette remains in a key that will perpetually draw head-nodders in. Because despite the dissemblance of these musician's strengths, the listeners of the underground all tend to dance in the same neck oscillating way. ~ Joshua Glazer