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freeke reviews #3
to be folded, spindled, and mutilated at will...
An unusually positive batch of reviews this time -- all I can say is that
I got lucky at the record store. :)
this time
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Pommes Fritz - the Orb (Intermodo/Island Red Label)
Implant - Eat Static (Planet Dog/Ultimate)
Sphinx/Mystical Adventure - Bango (Fragile/Transmat)
Pre-Cog/Precognition - Mazdaratti (Telepathic/PSI)
Octagon/Octaedre (BC07) - Basic Channel (Basic Channel)
Lite Music - 69 (R&S)
Tiger Bay - Saint Etienne (Heavenly/Warner Bros.)
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Pommes Fritz - the Orb (Intermodo/Island Red Label) [Mini LP/CD]
Smarting from their legal battles with Big Life and eager to distinguish
themselves from the hordes of imitators that have popped up since they
changed the rules of the ambient game with their early releases, the Orb
pop up again after a long absence with a true head-scratcher of a release.
The Orb seem determined to shake everything up, from the cover art and
titles to the music itself. There are heavy effects applied to most of
the samples, and the tracks are considerably less linear than on past
releases. Sometimes it works ("Meat 'n Veg", "Bang 'er 'n Chips"),
sometimes it's downright painful to listen to ("We're Pastie To Be Grill
You").
After the long absence, "Pomme Fritz" is something of a disappointment,
but it only makes me that much more eager to hear FFWD...
--
Sphinx/Mystical Adventure - Bango (Fragile/Transmat) [12"]
"Sphinx" is an uptempo house track that's pretty standard up until about
2/3 of the way through when this wild descending bass line kicks in, along
with what sounds like people making animal noises... precious. :)
"Mystical Adventure" is a nice melodic progressive house track, which is
fine if you're into that sort of thing...
--
Pre-Cog/Precognition - Mazdaratti (Telepathic/PSI) [12"]
Fred G. wins again with another fine example of what I've started to think
of as the "Rochester NY sound", as exemplified by Telepathic and
Vapourspace. These two cuts feature tweaky bleepings over the top of a
solid acid house track, a bit more dancefloor-oriented than the typical
Telepathic stuff.
--
Implant - Eat Static (Planet Dog/Ultimate) [CD/LP]
Who said hippies can't make great dance music? :) This is easily one of
the most inventive and pleasing releases of the year. There's a vague
alien-ecounters concept about the whole thing, but they avoid all the
granola techno cliches (birdy noises, stock "ethnic" samples) and produce
a set of winning, funky tracks that never stand still. Highly
recommended.
--
Octagon/Octaedre EP (BC07) - Basic Channel (Basic Channel) [12"]
On this, their seventh outing, the mysterious artists behind Basic Channel
have created a pair of tracks that, in emotional impact, far outstrip
better-known acts with studios full of equipment.
Laurie Anderson once said that talking about music is like dancing about
architecture, and rarely has this statement been more true than in
reference to the excellent string of singles that have come out on the
Basic Channel label. The warmth and deceptive simplicity of these tracks
is impossible to convey in print. I can tell you that these are vaguely
housey minimal techno tracks in the Berlin/Detroit tradition, but it's
impossible to communicate the way the sounds mutate, the way the rhythm
tracks clatter and swing, and the complete *headspace* these guys create
within each mini-opus. Music for the dancefloor and the living room -- it
doesn't get much better than this.
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Lite Music - 69 (R&S) [12"]
Carl Craig strikes again. You know what to expect -- funky breakdowns,
beautiful melodies, flutes and strings. This EP has three new tracks: the
housy "Jam The Box" (the Lite Mix, if you're keeping score), the beautiful
"Desire", and "Microlovr", a haunting minimal number. The EP also throws
in a treasure from the vaults (and adds a new intro), "My Machines" from
the _4 Jazz Funk Classics_ EP (1991).
--
Tiger Bay - Saint Etienne (Heavenly/Warner Bros.) [CD]
When One Dove's debut album came out last year, many compared them to
Saint Etienne -- indeed, some said they'd surpassed them. There are
definite similarities: Both bands deal in post-house dance pop with 60's
girl group influences, though One Dove's songs have a distinctly dubby
sensibility... but One Dove seems flabby, self-indulgent, and yes
*tuneless* next to these perfected morsels of pop candy.
What's happened on Saint Etienne's third full-length release, _Tiger Bay_,
is that the seams have stopped showing. While the first two albums
occasionally slipped into pastiche, _Tiger Bay_ drops the jokey (but
admittedly entertaining) samples and corny bits, and focuses on the songs.
They've never sounded better -- check out the gorgeous key change that
leads into the bridge in "Hug My Soul" : flutes and strings carry the
melody while Sarah Cracknell's voice jumps an octave and a sampled drum
fill holds down the bottom end.
If you only buy one pop album this year, it should be this
one.
--
That's it. Send free records to:
_
freeke
c/o dave walker
p.o. box 271
lincoln park, mi 48146-0271
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marmoset@msen.com freeke to be you and me
<A HREF="
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