Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Now HERE'S some British music press hype I can buy! Every year, Melody Maker, NME and the like anoint a band (or two or three) as the next saviors of the rock genre, but few live up to the hype. In 2001, one the chosen ones was Zero 7, made up of former remix artists Sam Hardaker and Henry Binns (who previously altered tracks from heavyweights like Radiohead) , and their original debut, "Simple Things." For once, those hyperventilating rags might have something!

"Simple Things" is a laid back trip to a time when things when simpler. Completely drenched in the trapping of the 70s, replete with echoes of funk, soul and jazz grooves, and overlaid with a sheen of heavenly psychadelia, the album is simply a delight to hear, especially through headphones.

Among the friends the braintrust recruited to flesh out their vision is a trio of vocalists. The Marvin Gaye-evoking vocals of Mozez gets things off to a righteous start with his silky smooth delivery on "I Have Seen," backed up by a subtle groove provided by Pete Trotman. Trotman gets even more laid back on the next track, "Polaris," which evokes visions of a completely chilled out, smoke-filled jazz club performance, psychedelic keyboard lines weaving in and out of wafting fumes.

It gets even better with "Destiny", co-written by the two female vocalists who share the spotlight on this song. On this track, Sia Furler sounds like a more languid, slightly whinier Nelly Furtado, with Sophie Barker's sultry voice coming in to deliver the chorus, "When I'm weak, I draw strength from you/And when you're lost, I know how to change your mood."

The difference between the two female vocalists really stand out when they each get a track of their own to sing. Furler's contribution is the aptly named, "Distractions." The music is more of that smooth, laid back, lightly grooving goodness, but Furler's vocals, given free rein, takes away from the music due to an unbridled whininess. By way of comparison, Sophie Barker's work on, "In the Waiting Line," makes it a candidate for the best track on the album.

That said, sweet vocals, whether from Mozez or Barker, aren't necessarily the key to the top tracks on "Simple Things." Binns and Hardaker do a good job of utilizing themes in their instrumentals. They've got nothing against taking the listener for a mindtrip of a detour, before taking them back to the mainstream of the track's consciousness. It's perhaps best heard on, "End Theme," exemplified by the strings that pipe up, swell, and then fade away, leaving you right back where you started.

"Simple Things," is just one of those albums that works with many facets of life. Whether used as background music for a party, or just put on by someone in serious need of relaxation, it's the kind of disc that makes you think, "Now, this is what music is all about."