Lebanon Elevator

Kamel Nitrate are to all intents and purposes a fusion band, mixing funk, trip-hop and Arab drum styles. Unfortunately, the only thing elevating on Lebanon Elevator is the CD from the player. That might sound harsh, but there are too many things wrong with this album; the end product falls too short of being a pleasurable listen. Lebanon Elevator is at best background music when turned down low (and that's putting it mildly). On the whole, it sounds like the kind of music that would have been made by Westerners who had never set foot in the Middle East.

There are one or two moments that manage to salvage the situation – tracks such as the ethereal ‘Galaxia's Lust’ and ‘Ice Station North’ but ultimately it's a lost cause. If this is an interpretation of how world music is meant to sound, then it's a dated one.