PlantLife embrace their pastiche to the point of sounding naïve and oblivious. Self-conscious, winking remakes of 70’s standards are usually deplorable, but such an objection can’t conclusively point its finger at The Return of Jack Splash. Kooky, kinky song titles like “Underwaterloveboogie” and “Got2Get2Gether4Luv” are the kind of Parliament parodies that would seem like damning evidence, but the passion and groove feel real enough.

Multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/“vibe-man” Jack Splash sprays sweat with an afro-shake and staccato falsetto croon as Panda One brings a hip-hop producer’s technique to his tight construction of neo-funk rollers and a few bluesy ballads. It’s The Love Below limited to a two lane approach, yielding results that are perhaps a tad more consistent but less dastardly and dashing than the “experimental” counterpart to Speakerboxxx. Jack’s personality comes off as little more than that of a generic revivalist next to the pseudo-eccentricities and eclecticism of Andre 3000.