At first blush, gogoLab seems like pure shtick an opportunity for keyboardist Eric Moon, bassist Bijoux Barbosa, and drummer Brian McRae to don suits, shades, and skinny ties and live out their spy-music fantasies. Turns out, though, these guys are talented enough to transcend their own gimmickry. The disc's title track is a case in point. The sprawling number opens and closes with atmospheric sound effects and a retro groove that does Lalo Schifrin proud yet its middle section features an extended Moon solo that's served neat and goes down smooth. Elsewhere, "The Girl," with its midtempo rhythms and synthetic strings, and "The Face-off," a tune that injects some unexpected funk into its soundtrack-ready vibe, recall the days before the evil nemesis known as Spyro Gyra turned fusion into a dirty word. True, The Stakeout's sense of fun sometimes slips into silliness. But overall, gogoLab's experiment is more successful than anyone had a right to expect.
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