Monsieur Leroc

Monsieur Leroc’s third album is a hodgepodge of styles with a little of his signature twisting thrown in. Leroc’s production, which is often compared to DJ Shadow’s and Money Mark’s, spans underground/indie hip-hop (“Me So Hungry,” featuring Radioinactive), jazz (“Freewheelin’ Frankie,” featuring Courtney Mace) and funk (“Baby,” featuring Bargain Josh). And those disparate influences are all punctuated with inordinate scratches, horn hits, out-of-place acoustic guitar strums and myriad samples. Sometimes it works well — particularly on cuts such as “Pacemaker,” in which Leroc applies unorthodox drum patterns and hand claps over brass and piano riffs seasoned with Mace’s sensual vocals. But when he throws on his mad-scientist cap, on songs such as “Great Balls,” things tend to feel overproduced, weighed down by too many sounds and loops. If you dig creative, sample-based music, however, this is one joint you don’t want to miss.