capsule reviews
THE ORB - Pomme Fritz ("The Orb's Little Album")
Usually a new Orb release is cause for celebration, joy and ingestion of
dangerous psychotropic substances. This time, I'm not so sure. The first
track, "Pomme Fritz (Meat 'n Veg)" is actually quite nice - high synth
noises and a meandering guitar build into some quiet percussive noises at
the end. "More Gills Less Fishcakes" is rather psychotic sounding though,
with random Black Dog-esque blurps and rattles, and a distorted, aggressive
vocal sample. "We're Pastie To Be Grill You" takes it even further into bad
trip territory, sounding like Nurse With Wound at their most abrasive.
Things pick up with "Bang 'Er 'N Chips" and "Alles Ist Schoen"; both are
good - the latter definitely lives up to its title. The disc ends on a
decidedly jokey note with two minutes of roller rink organ.
So, definitely a mixed bag. Half of it is nice, but not classic Orb. Half
of it is quite annoying. Hopefully the LP will be more consistent...
MYSTERIES OF SCIENCE
Dominic Woosey writes some amazing music. Unfortunately, he didn't bother
to put any of it on this CD (available domestically from Our Pals at
Instinct). Instead, it's a load of cheesy "ambient" (gag) tripe with bad
melodies and bad sounds. How someone with such an impressive equipment list
could do this baffles me. I'm bummed.
SMITH AND MIGHTY - Steppers' Delight EP
This is two years old or more, but it's the freshest sound I've heard
lately. Techno reggae, I guess you'd call it, but it's much classier than
that appellation would lead you to believe. Anyway, I found it in a cut-out
bin and it turned out to be the best $1.99 I've spent lately. Start
hunting!
jon@opcode.com
"You know... for kids!"