People Like Us

Vicki Bennett, who records under the name People Like Us, is a slice-and-dice sound collagist not unlike other wackos of the field like Negativland. But Bennett's work is often more beguiling; it's channel-surfing of a rather poppy, fluffy variety, a kaleidoscopic knob fiddle that lingers on Disney as much as it does college stations. Rarely does she let a piece orbit around a single recognizable sample. Rather, she carves around it, creating a ghostly recess that she coaxes your memory to fill with the hook, the refrain, the lyric.

This particular album, Abridged Too Far, collects WFMU and John Peel sessions, thereby making it a collage as well. Chew on that.