The Mirror Conspiracy

1	Treasures 2:24
2	Le Monde 3:11
3	Indra 5:22
4	Lebanese Blonde 4:48
5	Focus on Sight 3:47
6	Air Batucada 4:46
7	So Com Voce 2:47
8	Samba Tranquille 3:06
9	Shadows of Ourselves 3:37
10	The Hong Kong Triad 3:01
11	Illumination 4:38
12	The Mirror Conspiracy 3:45
13	Tomorrow 3:43

Barnes & Noble

Sporting spiffy mod suits and exuding late-night cool, Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C., duo whose ultra-suave grooves infuse digital music sheen with organic tones and earthy rhythms. After two 1999 releases on the mellow side -- an excellent DJ Kicks mix-CD and the remix collection Abductions & Reconstructions, where they worked over tracks from David Byrne and Stereolab among others -- The Mirror Conspiracy finds the duo diversifying their sound with sensual pop numbers ("Le Monde") and cinematic deep house ("The Hong Kong Triad"), alongside plenty of languid chill-out tracks. Churning Latin percussion ("Air Batucada"), blissed-out sitar-funk ("Lebanese Blonde"), and the sultry vocals of Bebel Gilberto (the daughter of bossa nova innovator Joao Gilberto) on "So com Voce" are just a few of the international touches that distinguish Thievery Corporation from their sampler-toting peers. Falling somewhere between the ethnic-electronica of acts such as Afro-Celt Sound System and the fuzzy trip-hop of Kruder and Dorfmeister, Thievery Corporation produce luscious beat symphonies for aspiring lounge lizards and globe-trotting travelers. Michael Endelman

All Music Guide

Like their debut album, Thievery Corporation's second, The Mirror Conspiracy, is a pleasant album of sublime mid-tempo trip-hop, reminiscent of easy listening groove music, and continually referencing the breezier, atmospheric side of Brazilian, Jamaican, French, and Indian forms. The nocturnal dub-poetry of "Treasures" sets a tone for the bruising basslines and echoey keys throughout the album, and "Lebanese Blonde" is another early highlight, with the graceful vocalese of Pam Bricker framing live sitar by Rob Myers and a Jamaican-style horn section. Brazil represents with a triple-shot of "Air Batucada," "So Com Voce" (with vocals from Bebel Gilberto), and "Samba Tranquille." French chanteuse Lou Lou adds a bit of downtempo continental flair on "Le Monde" and "Shadows of Ourselves," and Thievery Corporation even samples Ella Fitzgerald on the ambient-jungle closer "Tomorrow." As on their first LP, Garza and Hilton occasionally appear satisfied to just push a few grooves and reference their favorite styles of music over the top -- at the expense of any new ideas -- but The Mirror Conspiracy is excellently produced and almost as stylish as the duo's swinging suits on the cover. John Bush