This album is the kind of declarative statement we rarely get from major label acts. For his first solo record, N*Syncer JC Chasez delivers a personal, sensually edgy record that proclaims one thing above all else: “I love dance music.” House, electroclash, hip-hop, funk, and even a crunked-out variation on that omnipresent Diwali riddim from last year proliferate on this record, and in Chasez’s house, all the various genres can play nice together.
Lead track “Some Girls (Dance With Women)” (also featured as an album closer in a mix featuring Dirt McGirt (aka Ol’ Dirty Bastard/Big BabyJesus/Osiris)) seems to have been crafted as a record that hip-hop, dancehall,and pop clubs could all agree on. Chasez works with the skittery clap-and-hi-hat sequences, and the production is excellent. Working mostly with Riprock and Alex G (who, with their Method of Insanity Mix of N*Sync’s “I Drive Myself Crazy” crafted the best boy band remix yet done), but also featuring work with Basement Jaxx, Chasez lets the record show off his range as a performer, from a couple of Prince-like loverman ballads to the 80s punk vocals that top “All Day Long I Think About Sex.”
We get from JC on this record a diverse statement of ability and a more satisfying and honest work thanbandmate Justin Timberlake’s record. “Come to Me” is a straight-up electro/house record, and its breathy seductive quality typifies what makes Schizophrenic, ironically, a cohesive experience. Taking Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” and sleazing it up with some deeply tweaked synths, Chasez gives the dance music community ar espectful and enjoyable record that is versatile enough for any party and intimate enough for repeated listens.
