For Dissent's sophomore effort, Howe pulled together players from other Wide Hive projects -- the aforementioned Keys, Crown City Rockers pianist Kat Ouano, and VU bassist Matt Montgomery -- in addition to several new collaborators. Singer Nathalie Sanchez, whose honey-sweet vocals take the spotlight for nearly half the tunes, is the pick of the newbies. Whether riding the syncopated samba rhythm of "Flying High" or grooving in the synth and piano velvet of "Soul Cycling," Sanchez imbues the songs with a sunny, sultry quality that stands apart from the world-weary delivery of many a downtempo chanteuse.
As the project's producer and principal songwriter, Howe couches the vocal tracks in lush, layered arrangements, recalling the mellower output of such U.K. imprints as Ninja Tune and Mo' Wax. "Dissent 2" finds Ouano's warm Fender Rhodes laying a foundation for Tim Hyland's lithe flute lines and Lila Sklar's hypnotic violin.
The instrumental tunes of the collection drift into more adventurous sounds. "Continental Divide" weaves Indian and Middle Eastern vocal samples over a dubby bass line and the deftly plucked strings of an African harp, sounding like an outtake from one of Bill Laswell's genre-busting sessions. "Haunted Head" and "Sound Painting" build disjointed grooves around oddball dialogue from obscure albums and films, giving both tracks a unique cut-and-paste flavor. Howe's love for jazz-funk resurfaces on "Freaky Feet," pitting Hammond B-3 and funky clavinet against a kinetic string section for a lively chase-scene theme. Though a couple of ambient pieces sound more like meandering interludes than actual songs, and Howe's lyrics veer dangerously close to platitude at times ("Shine" being the main culprit), Bleeding Together takes an intriguing trip through the well-traveled intersection of world music and electronica.
