For a group that seemingly keeps both hands on the plow, dOP’s shamble-house is pretty sure-footed on “Allo Boom Boom.” Not wasting a second for atmosphere, the group gives one perfunctory chime and horn-swell before burrowing into their twisted drum-circle of a bassline. It’s tempting to call the rest of the track whimsical, as its quirks and builds disappear before your ears like a cosmic sandwich with less drugs. This is pretty much the type of humor and sound I expected Cobblestone Jazz to have before I, you know, actually heard them.

And with dOP’s background in hiphop, it’s easy to pair Between the Blues with another hip-hop-turned-house irreverent, DJ Koze. But let me offer a key difference - while Koze was figuring the most ergonomically sound way to stuff a tongue in his cheek, dOP were cracking up over jokes that begin with “like a mouse on a nipple…strolling.” And let me say, the trio have grown up to become fine gents because of it. Point in fact: I’d already worn out “Allo Boom Boom” and the sea-sick wallop of the Noze-assisted “Dopamen” well before the time I actually got around to listening to the predictable come-down of the title track.

Circus Company / CCS 022
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[Nate DeYoung]