Peace Is Tough

by Joshua GlazerTerranova has always been one of the more versatile groups to rise to the top of the electronica pile. Peace Is Tough again proves this point, masterfully making its way through patois-accented hip-hop, conventional downtempo, and gritty techno -- all within the first three cuts of the album. But while Terranova never seems to look for style, the band obviously came up a bit short on content, with only five original tracks finding their way onto the album. The rest is made up of new versions of previous vinyl releases. But then again, the infinite cycle of sampling and remixing found in modern electronic music has proven that a song need not be entirely novel in order to be effective. Hence the gritty sound of "When in Rome..." still gets the blood pumping while "99 Percent" and "Get on It" feel totally 1985 and totally 1995 at the same time. And for all the retreading, you can still sense the group moving in a particular direction with each release. Peace Is Tough is an edgier album than its predecessor, but in an invigorating way, proving once again that a good beat is a good beat -- and that a good time can still be found within familiar electronic forms.