July/August 2001

dZihan & Kamien
Freaks and Icons
Six Degrees

By Tony Green

Dzihan and Kamien's Freaks and Icons practically cries out for a complementary watermelon martini and a copy of the Wall St. Journal. With its lightly prodding beats and careening synth textures, tracks like "Dabudei" and "Homebase" strike a not too tart, not too sweet middle ground, perfect for conversation. Some tracks, like the urgent "Streets of Istanbul" and the head-nodding dreamer "Ocean Air" up the head-rush quotient to somewhat engaging levels. "Smile," with its Macy Gray-ish vocal and ring-modulator-mutated keyboard track, is the album's keeper.