This kind of musical hopscotch isn't necessarily a bad thing, and at timesSoft Machine feels like aDJ-Kicks compilation from Teddybears' backbone, Jonas and Klas Ahlund. The frisky Cybotron-esque "Automatic Lover", which features vocoder-style crooning over smashing cymbals, acts as fitting rejoinder to post-Human After All drudgery. If only the Teddybears could have spread that strand of paint a bit thinner.

"Yours to Keep" is the album's centerpiece. Built on the strength of a much-hyped duet between Annie and Neneh Cherry-- suddenly relevant in a post-M.I.A. world-- "Yours to Keep" should be a sassy treat. But their divergent voices make for a less than stellar combination: Cherry is all untrained edges and attitude, if slightly rusty, while Annie's airy delivery is a bit more precious. Thus you have a cloying mess. That song is sandwiched between Mad Cobra's oddly popular "Cobrastyle" and Elephant Man's obnoxious guest spot on "Are You Feelin' It?" "Cobrastyle" has been a commercial beast appearing over images of digitized soccer players, German lager, and professional wrestlers alike. This may have facilitated Teddybears' emergence in the U.S. as a production curio. Cobra's interpolation of Kid Rock's "Bawitdaba" on the track is hopelessly corny, and it's a shame because it's one of the few beats-- a post-ska attempt at pop-- that's got replay value. "Are You Feelin' It?," on the other hand, is mired in recycled reverberating guitars and Elephant Man's insolent toasting.

Save the minimal punk-funk forum for hero Iggy Pop (whose menacing oil drum of a voice still sounds great) on "Punkrocker", the latter half ofSoft Machine is a garden for the group's singer Patrik Arve to plant pseudo-intellectual lyrics in his Teuton-travels-to-Jamaica moan. While Teddybears' fusion of funkier, organic styles with the rigid bloops and blips of European dance music are occasionally inspired, the vocals are fairly dreadful and the songwriting isn't quite engaging. Closer "Alma" is a quiet, atmospheric journey that is hopefully a portent of things to come for the trio. It's languorous and thoughtful, in no rush to make an impression, unlike the eager lookey-here guest-laden tracks up front. Despite the major label-backing (Atlantic is distributing this album) and the cheers of a few outlying hep vocalists, Teddybears are perhaps best served doing them. Who that is, exactly, isn't yet clear.