The Album

Infectiously simple but not annoyingly so, Mauro Picotto's debut was the new age trance equivalent of jump-up drum'n'bass. With good reason, nearly all of Picotto's stomach-rumblers were included, from the Adiemus glitter of "Proximus Medley" to the crueler "Lizard," "Iguana," and "Komodo" favorites, but sequenced straight through the new material with the feel of an exceedingly sweaty live set. Picotto stuck to what he was best at, showing off a seamless capacity for muscled-up positivity, over-jubilant European trance vibes, and the hard dishonesty of Middle America. The Album was clean and dark, marked by frequent lapses into entertaining cheese, and one of BXR's loudest, largest, best releases.

= Dean Carlson