Sancho Panza

AMG Review of Sancho Panza

Stewart Mason
All Music Guide

As popular and widely respected as Beck is, isn't it kind of odd that he's actually directly influenced relatively few performers in the decade-plus since "Loser"? Mountain Con seek to redress that imbalance, because their third album, Sancho Panza, sounds directly influenced by Odelay-era Beck in its mash-ups of hip-hop drum loops, samples that scour the fringes of pop and ock past, and lyrics that float past in an agreeable stoner haze. The Seattle outfit's lead singer, James Nugent, lacks Beck's distinctive vocal style, but the group mostly makes up for that flaw with the inventive arrangements. Admittedly, part of the fun is in playing "spot the sample" -- "To Infinity" is built around the main riff from the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog," and on a somewhat more obscure tip, "Zond" features a slowed-down iteration of the melody from the Dave Clark Five's "Because" -- but there are musical pleasures to be found in catchy, clever tunes like "House Party in the New Dark Ages" entirely on their own merits.