Some electronic producers spend their entire careers building up a roster of instruments, legions of samples, and more gear than any bedroom studio could possibly fit. Jamie Lidell has apparently been reducing not only his equipment list to its basics, but his production style, so it includes a minimum of things that you need to program (much less plug in). Of course, that jives with his gradual blossoming as an unhinged soul singer on 2005's Multiply, which has only blossomed further for 2008's Jim, a neo-soul record that sounds like it was recorded live, in the kind of studio that each of the album's seven to eight musicians actually could fit into. Part of this is the result of Lidell and co-producer Mocky's ability to record so well that the production doesn't stand out by itself, but simply works as a vehicle for the songs…

The early reports on Compass trumpeted the fact that Beck was involved (his credit is additional production), but Jamie Lidell is hardly a musician who needs the expertise - he has a voice that's soulful and spirited like few in contemporary music, and his production skills were knocking out fans and critics before they even knew he could sing. If anything, the magic that Lidell & co. create on Compass is a more varied trip through music-making than on 2008's Jim. If that record could be criticized (and it wasn't, not much), it could be said that Lidell and co-conspirator Mocky created an excellent soul record - and just that. Compass is not a neo-soul record by any means…