From Mark Stevens Sent Thu, Jul 8th 1999, 22:57
From Mark Stevens Sent Thu, Jul 8th 1999, 22:57
On Tue, 6 Jul 1999 20:07:31 +0100 (BST), you wrote: >Well, being an AoN fan since the first EP, I find myself really pleased >with the album. Not because it bears any resemblance to their earlier >work (I feared a lukewarm rehash of past glories) but because it is a >mature, musical, and very solid _contemporary_ _pop_ album. It is not in >the least 'genre IDM', or 'genre D&B' (lite, or otherwise). This may >explain why it has got much better reviews outside the dance scene than >in it... Agreed. AoN have never been about IDM, in any shape or form. But they have been influential. As you said, it's just a decent pop album, as all the previous AoN albums have been. I don't know what folks in here were honestly expecting to hear. 'The Seduction of Claude Debussy' is basically a celebration of ZTT's new-found independence, now that Warners have chopped them off. Whether or not it'll see ZTT return to the good ol' days of arty pop (Propaganda, FGTH, etc.) remains to be seen. As for the pretentious nature of the album... as any ZTT fan knows, it's all part of the packaging. It's ironic pretentiousness. The whole point is that it's meant to mean nothing. Let Paul Morley have his fun (although I did prefer his approach to 808 State's 'Don Solaris'). -- Mark Stevens http://www.sonance.demon.co.uk/