Every so often, a CD comes across my desk that takes me by surprise. Dirty Vegas is one of those CDs. By now, everyone's familiar with "Days Go By" from the Mitsubishi Eclipse commercial. You know, the one with the hot babe in the passenger seat busting some serious moves. Based solely on that song, I never would've given the rest of the CD a second thought. Regular readers of this 'zine will know that we don't cover much in the way of dance music. However, one look at the songwriting credits in the booklet changed all that. What was Roger Waters' name doing here? I put on "Simple Things Part 2" and sure enough--there it was. The last part of the song contains the lyrics to "Another Brick in the Wall - Part 2." I decided to give the rest of the album a chance.

Most of the album was what I was expecting--dance tunes that all blend into each other. But then I heard "Candles." Sounding nothing like the prior five songs, this one is one of the coolest new tracks I've heard year. Forget any preconceived notions of what you thought the band sounds like. This song is dark and brooding, sounding almost like a trippy version of Alice in Chains. The only bad thing is that it's too short. Besides the two tracks mentioned above, be sure to check out "All or Nothing," "Alive," and the unlisted bonus track, an acoustic version of "Days Go By" (which sounds eerily like a Neil Finn track). Who knows? After you hear these songs, you just might find yourself going back to listen to the rest of the CD.