by John Bush
First Floor includes the complete contents of the two EPs Theo Parrish recorded for Peacefrog during 1998. After a perhaps excessively spare opener, the collection moves into a succession of excellent tracks (&Sweet Sticky,& &Paradise Architects,& &Electric Alley Cat,& &JB's Edit&) driven by distorted, scratchy, trance-like sample snippets borrowed from disco and jazz-funk. (The back cover even shows Parrish soaking in a bath of records with Ron Carter and Isaac Hayes LPs visible.) Parrish's ingenious use of drum programming and effects add-ons tie each track together just the way a great DJ should. It's the next best thing to seeing him spin. [The CD was also released with a bonus track.]