The Society Electronic Bionic

• Words: Luciana Lopez
• Label: Freestyle

Too many future jazz albums depend on electronic gimmickry to pull off their sound. But what makes Electronic Bionic so much better is the sense that the people behind the tracks are accomplished musicians with an ear for getting past labels and limits. "Human Nature," for example, has both vocals chock full of soul as well as swelling synths, "High Jive" features jazz sax against crackling sounds, and "Keep Your Head Up" sounds as if Kosheen had been bred on Philly soul. Plenty of acts never put out an album this good, much less a debut.