From Warren Lapham Sent Thu, Apr 22nd 1999, 20:28
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 xxxx@xxxx.xxx FAXlabel reviews : http://www.2350.org/