Elephunk

CD

Black Eyed Peas have at times been accused of sounding too Tribe for their own good, but this time out Will.i.am and crew have consciously expanded their horizons. Problem is, perhaps they've tried too hard. As the title suggests, Elephunk borrows from every single element of funk known to man and (with the exception of the one straight-out rock & roll track, "Anxiety") tries to cram them all into a semi-hip-hop format. While such willingness to experiment is admirable, in this case the attempt comes off as slightly desperate and too diffuse. Elephunk settles itself into a groove when BEP's newest member Fergie’s lush girlie vocals are allowed to dominate, as they do on the discofied "The Boogie That Be." --Rebecca Levine