The title alone tells you much of what you need to know about this

album -- that it's a noisy, chaotic amalgam of DJ culture, live beats

and good old-fashioned guitars. In Propellerheads' British

homeland, this type of combination has livened up a scene where

techno "trainspotters" were becoming increasingly anal in their

overly serious pursuit of purity, and where "indie" rockers were

denying the existence of any decade since the 1960s. For those

who enjoy a little of everything -- and who enjoy the process of

enjoying it -- the new, beer-and-amphetamine-fueled "big beat"

sound of Propellerheads, Fatboy Slim, Bentley Rhythm Ace and

others has been a godsend. Rock 'n' roll is suddenly fun again.

Dance music is fun again. Even better, they appear to be one and

the same thing.

But although their approach to musicmaking might appear drunk

and disorderly, the figureheads behind Propellerheads know

precisely what they're doing. As well they should, given their

credentials. Alex Gifford is a 34-year-old journeyman who has

played piano for Van Morrison, played saxophone for The

Stranglers, played synths for The Grid and engineered for Peter

Gabriel. Twentysomething Will White, the son of a respected jazz

drummer, is a sticksman of the highest order, has played in an

acid-jazz/hip-hop band and worked as a DJ. The two, who reside

in the quiet, old university town of Bath, have thrown all their

experience into the Propellerheads project, but just as important,

they've thrown in all their enthusiasm, too. Gifford will tell you this

is the first time he has truly, thoroughly enjoyed the musicmaking

process.

Perhaps it's just coincidence, then, that they should be doing so

well with something they so love. But certainly Gifford and White

could not have chosen a better climate in which to indulge their

love of spy themes: the lounge scene has revived interest in

soundtracks and the supposedly finer accoutrements of life --

things like cocktails and sharp suits -- while big beat is naturally

cinematic, with its sudden stabs of melodramatic melody over big,

bold drums and epic breakdowns. These genres meet time and

again on DECKSANDRUMSANDROCKANDROLL -- from

Propellerheads' early single and high-octane album-opener "Take

California," which still sounds like a battle scene to save the

planet, through to their three U.K. singles from last year: the self-

descriptive "Spybreak," since used for a car chase in the David

Duchovny film "Playing God"; the jazzy and brash "History

Repeating," with the great Bond theme veteran Shirley Bassey on

vocals; and their masterful reworking of the "007" soundtrack, "On

Her Majesty's Secret Service," which producer David Arnold also

featured on his recent Shaken And Stirred tribute.

If these tracks appear overly dramatic and foreboding, don't worry:

the humor of big beat culture is clearly evident elsewhere. "Velvet

Pants" features a speech from a documentary on groupies,

"Number of Microphones" stars Will White as a human beatbox,

and "Bigger" matches its subject matter with suitably phat

keyboard lines. While some of the vocal samples are almost

juvenile in their wit, the music itself never suffers. Sure, it puts a

smile on the face, even makes you giggle, but why shouldn't a

predominantly instrumental form of music tickle your funny bone

as well as shake your ass?

Less expected, perhaps, are the two new tracks added since the

U.K. release earlier this year. "360 Degrees" is a reworking of an

instrumental "Oh Yeah" -- but with De La Soul on vocals -- while

the finale, "You Want It Back," is uptempo hip-hop starring the

Jungle Brothers. Both are functional and will serve them well with

American post-rave headz. But the Propellerheads' most likely

audience will still be the alt-rock, frat-boy crowd that has adopted

the Chemical Brothers and Prodigy en masse. For them, this is an

album made in block-rockin' heaven -- with the panache and wit of

classic James Bond.