After seeing a general lack of in-depth posts about the new Orbital
full-length, I thought I'd share my thoughts about this release with the
list...Blade Runner sample spotting and AFX clones debates be damned!
Everyone who has said something about this record has mentioned that
Orbital has deviated from the path that they had been on, that this album
sounds nothing like their previous work...even that they have taken a step
backwards. I'll agree as far as the change in sound goes, but not
direction...the song structures and melodies on _The Middle of Nowhere_
are still very much Orbital, but the arrangements are where the difference
lies.
I respect musicians who deviate from the formula that bought them
notoriety, or better yet, avoid those ruts altogether. Having said that,
merely respecting an artist isn't the same as enjoying their art...
But I enjoy this album immensely. I would prefer to think of it a step
sideways rather than a step backwards; this vast difference in sound threw
me at the beginning, too...but I think I've been able to wrap my head
around it, finally. (Granted, the way in which it makes sense may be a
million miles from what P & P had in mind, but the issue of the validity
of that is another debate.)
I think that the Hartnolls had the notion that this album didn't fit too
well in the context of their previous works in mind when they named
it. The outer sleeve for the CD is mostly white, with a grainy, shadowy
figure on the front, and a pair of such figures on the inside of the
sleeve. These figures have no context whatsoever in the packaging, and,
in a way (and this is where I think that most of those who have slagged
this release would agree with me), it's hard to find a context for this
album. I'm not normally one to try and find such a firm link between
packaging and music, but I can't help it here.
The notion that the release of this album was a backwards movement,
especially in light of the variety of many of the sounds that are on the
album, is easy to understand. A typical "rave anthem" chord progression
rears its head in several places along the course of the album. Many of
the sounds used sound unashamedly retro, perhaps even dated (or
"cheesy")...a 303, an organ...and Orbital still employ breathy, ethereal
female vocals, which is rare among acts that get the most attention on
this list. There weren't even that many on _In Sides_, as I recall...
_Style_ (the album version differs only slightly from the single version
of the same name) uses a lot of primitive-sounding sine-wave tones as the
basis for its melodies...not to mention that it samples a cover of
Erasure's first big hit, "Oh l'Amour."
(Disclaimer: I could, and probably am, reading a lot more into this than
I ought to, but that's part of the problem with releasing art out into the
world, isn't it?)
So how does this all fit together? Well, my take on this album is that it
is a context-free nod toward both the past and the future. The upcoming
change in the thousands digit of the Western calendar's year seems to be a
mental stumbling block for a lot people, myself included. I sense that
this album could be a reaction to the general displacement that such an
arbitrary-digital-rollover milestone can bring. This album belongs
nowhere, but it also belongs everywhere...then again, this could be my own
personal displacement and soul-searching bleeding into things.
As far as the tracks themselves are concerned, the first, "Way Out ->,"
just soars with its trumpets and synthetic strings...we begin the slide
into darkness and aggression through the still-somewhat-pretty "Spare
Parts Express" and the angreier, noisier "Know Where to Run", and the
thick, rocky guitars and angry vocal samples of "I Don't Know You People"
are the climax of this emotional direction. The second half of the album
brings us closer to the light, and the 16-minute "Nothing Left" gets us
almost all the way there...the simple bleepiness that forms the basis of
"Style" (together with the afore-mentioned Erasure sample...just a loop of
a woman singing, "Now I'm aching for you") rounds out the cycle...back to
soaring.
I can't tell you to like this album; I can only ask, if you're an Orbital
fan, that you not dismiss it based on sounds clips, or even an initial
listen. I came close to that, and, knowing what I know now, that would've
been a mistake. (But I probably wouldn't have known it.)
Putting the 'idm' back in 'idm,'
-w.
(pretense watchers: please note that nowhere, except here, did I use the
terms 'Y2K,' 'millenium,' 'fin-de-siecle,' or 'postmodern.' please adjust
your flames accordingly. besides, we're past the appearance of those
words now anyway, so what does it matter?)
--
Warren Lapham laps@2350.org
FAXlabel reviews :
http://www.2350.org/