*** Morcheeba, “Fragments of Freedom,” Sire.

On their third album, the British trip-hoppers affect a more upbeat tone as they continue to blenderize pop styles. Indulging their retro passions, they veer confidently from languid bluesiness to jaunty funk to vibrant disco, even offering an old-school-sounding hip-hop ditty featuring a freestyling Biz Markie. Skye Edwards’ vocals may be less gloriously depressive, but she’s still engagingly contemplative on such tracks as “Love Is Rare.”

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.