'Scorpio' Rising

Tim Holmes and Richard Fearless, aka U.K. electronica duo Death In Vegas, return this week with the North American release of "Scorpio Rising" on Sanctuary Records. "Scorpio," Death In Vegas' first album since 1999's Time Bomb/Concrete set, "The Contino Sessions," maintains the pair's trademark droning guitars mixed with pulsing beats, but is lighter in tone than its moody predecessor.

However, like "Sessions," which featured guest vocals from Iggy Pop and Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie, "Rising" also features appearances by some of rock and electronica's most notable players, including Paul Weller, Oasis' Liam Gallagher, Hope Sandoval, and Adult.

"Paul Weller came to us, said how much he liked the previous album, and [asked if] in the future, if we thought of doing anything, we could we bear him in mind," Holmes says. "So we were like, 'Yeah, okay!' We did a gig in San Francisco at a place called Bimbo's, and Hope came to see us there, and we talked about working together. We sort of knew each other before, and because of our work with Kevin [Shields], who used to be in My Bloody Valentine, and Hope's band members used to be in My Bloody Valentine, so there was sort of a connection there. [Getting in touch with] Liam was just a pure chance, writing him a letter."