The new Ancient Astronauts album We Are To Answer is another one of those releases that makes me wonder why the artists aren’t getting gigs doing soundtrack work. There are some lush, atmospheric cuts on this new release from ESL (due out June 9th). “From The Sky” and “I Came Running” kick things off nicely in that vein.

This isn’t quite trip hop, and it’s not quite soundtrack sounds, there’s a collision of hip hop, ambient, and spaced-out sounds here ala Unkle with more than a hint of dub rounding out the disc.

This album only really goes wrong when the vocals distract from the the dub-hop vibe. The track that works best with vocals is “Dark Green Rod” where Ulf Stricker drops in without crushing the vibe the way guest The Pharcyde does on “Classic”. That track would work a hell of a lot better if The Pharcyde didn’t resort to tired rap cliches, “Yeah, whazzup everybody, it’s The Pharcyde…” It’s been done far too many times…rapping about how great you and the band are? Very, very tired. Move on, lads.

“Lost in Marrakesh” is outstanding, a fine example of Ancient Astronauts at work in the atmosphere department. They also nail “A Hole To Swallow Us”. Nice moody stuff with guest vox by Phat Old Mamas who convey the right amount of soul without hitting an overblown Top 40 radio vocal approach. Skillfully done, and that track ends much too soon.

Best cut on “We Are To Answer” is the energetic “Everybody”, which after all the mellower tracks finally pulls out the funk in the final third of the album. More of this, please!

When it comes to all the featured artists, I get it–Ancient Astronauts need to trade on the currency provided by all the guests, but I think they’d fare much better without the helpers. This is a group still fumbling a bit for an identity, but you can hear where they’re headed. Good stuff when it works. Skip the weak tracks and you’ve got solid late night listening.