When I Was Born for the 7Th Time

1995’s *Woman’s Gotta Have It* revealed a band (and its leader, Tjinder Singh), inching towards something like cohesiveness, with a more refined, sensual aesthetic taking the lead. *When I Was Born For The 7th Time* signaled a breakthrough for Cornershop, with tracks as silky as melted butter produced with clarity and sure-mindedness. Sitars are more subdued, Punjabi pop rhythms more smoothly integrated with Western synths and sensibilities. The mix of genres is fearless and adventurous: the lazy, alt-country underpinning of “Good To Be on the Road Back Home” snuggles chummily next to the downtempo electronica of “It’s Indian Tobacco My Friend,” and the slow, ‘70s funk of “Chocolat” melts into the sitar-and-tablas swirl of “We’re In Y’r Corner,” as if the latter were a pie crust waiting for its creamy filling. There are many natural pairings here, but the languid churn of “Sleep on the Left Side” is such a brilliant lead into the pop gem, “Brimful of Asha,” that one might get waylaid and find themselves in a pleasurable loop that’s hard to leave.

When I Was Born for the 7th Time is a remarkable leap forward for Cornershop, the place where the group blends all of their diverse influences into a seamless whole.