Morcheeba changes its sound track

"We could have made the same record over and over again as so many other artists from our era do, but we thought, 'What was the point?' " says Ross Godfrey (left), with his brother Paul. (steve gullick)

Paul and Ross Godfrey, the brother masterminds behind Morcheeba, have been called sonic sculptors and some of the architects of the trip-hop movement in pop music. Yet according to Ross, they associate their art form more with film.

"I think the ways we bring together so many disparate elements and voices and make them cohere into a whole with a unifying vision, we are more like film directors," he says from Los Angeles earlier this month. Given their masterful grasp of form and technique, you could call them the Coen brothers of pop.

After a three-year hiatus, the retooled group returned last month with "Dive Deep" (Ultra) on which the Godfreys changed up the musical dynamic by bringing in an array of vocalists to take lead turns over their hypnotic, lush musical tracks.

The band, which plays a sold-out show at Somerville Theatre tomorrow night, has struggled to replace the terrific Skye Edwards, with whom they split after "Charango" in 2002. Edwards's voice defined the band's sound on its debut, "Who Can You Trust?" (1996). They moved on with Daisy Martey, who sang on their last record, "The Antidote" (2005).

"We loved Skye, but it was time to move on and try new things," says Ross. "You really don't want to be defined by one sound and vibe. We went as far as we could with her."

On "Dive Deep," the sound is less spacey and electronic than their pioneering late-'90s work but no less compelling with its melodic lilt and swirling textures. They've brought in Norwegian pop singer Thomas Dybdahl, veteran vocalist Judie Tzuke, rapper Cool Calm Pete, and Bradley Burgess - all of whom the Godfreys found through the artists' MySpace pages. Also along is French singer Manda, who contacted the brothers, telling them she would be a good fit.

"To me this is Morcheeba's best album since the first album," says Patrick Moxey, president of Ultra Records. "The Ross brothers have a great new vocal lineup with Judie Tzuke, and Thomas Dybdahl's voice is truly amazing on 'Riverbed.' "

This varied lineup would seem to create an incoherent vibe for the normally seamless sound of the band, but it works remarkably well as the vocalists complement one another on the very different-sounding tracks.

There are surprising twists on English folk pop ("Run Honey Run") as well as a glossy Fleetwood Mac-inspired tune ("Enjoy the Ride"), along with subtle, moody soul searching tracks ("One Love Karma," "Gained the World") to augment a few classic chill-out Morcheeba explorations. All the vocalists serve their songs with style.

"We could have made the same record over and over again as so many other artists from our era do, but we thought, 'What was the point?' " says Ross. "Here I'll go back to my film reference and say that we did what Almodóvar does so well, and that is look at familiar things from different perspectives and orchestrate an array of different colors and shades depending on what the subjects were. The trick is making it sound organic and honestly engaging."

Godfrey said that he and his brother thought that a pretty radical transformation of the band's trademark sound was in order after "The Antidote" received a mostly tepid response from fans and critics.

"We stand by the record, but we were also creating it at a time of transformation for us and we were clearly a bit aimless both creatively and personally," Ross says. "We needed to regroup and take some time away. I moved to LA, and that really brought me a very different perspective on life and music."

He adds that even though the term trip-hop might be a bit antiquated, it still serves its purpose. "Trip-hop is still valid as it does pretty accurately define Morcheeba and our peers' sound, but that was a purely journalistic term," he says. "I don't think any of the musicians or people in our community would actually use those words. Music has splintered so much over the years, and that's why we felt we had the freedom to mix many genres this time around. To lazily conform to what people expect of you is what undermines so many artists."

The multi-instrumentalist maintains that he doesn't know whether the band's sound will morph again.

"I do like this direction, but I also like to subvert people's expectations. So who knows? We'll just create the sound track to the movie no one's seen yet."