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Future Sound Of London presents Amorphous Androgynous - The Isness (Artful)
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Pavel
Troll
Started Topics :
312
Posts :
8646
Posted : Oct 25, 2002 21:04
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01.The Lovers
02.The Isness
03.The Mello Hippo Disco Show
04.Goodbye Sky (Reprise)
05.Elysian Feels
06.Go Tell It To The Trees Egghead
07.Divinity
08.Guru Song
09.Osho
10.Her Tongue Is Like a Jellyfish
11.Meadows
12.High Tide On The Sea Of Flesh
13.Galaxial Pharmaceutical
Well, this isn’t fit well with the definition of ambient/chill out, but then again FSOL never really were after solid definitions of their music.
So let’s start.
This won’t be a typical review because this album is actually a story with a start, middle and an end. The style of the album is anything but something that a seasoned FSOL fan might expect from the album. Maybe because their last album was released 6 years ago. This album lacks those familiar psychedelic landscapes that were drawn in their previous LPs like Dead Cities and Life Forms. Instead taking the listener to a journey in the unknown and sometimes frightening future they decided to take the listener to a travel back in time to show them their musical roots. You can clearly spot the Beatles influences in some of the tracks, like “Elysian feels” which sounds like 2002 remake of “Tomorrow never ends”. Also a lot of Pink Floyd influences in tracks like “Divinity” and “Go Tell It To the Trees Egghead”. The beginning of “Galaxial Pharmaceutical” is a wonderful homage to Bowie’s “Space Oddity”.
The hole album from the beginning to the end is stuffed with cinematic atmosphere, the strings give the 60’s feeling and although the production is crystal clear you can’t ignore the overall lo-fi feeling that lies all over the album.
This album fits well in the recent retro wave with albums from Air, Zero 7, Royksopp and even Beck’s last album. But it does the job with so much passion and love to the fathers of the psychedelia that sometimes you could find yourself wondering whether it’s another masked Jon Lennon rarity that was forgotten by Yoko Ono.
The strongest sides of this album are the AMAZING drum arrangements that are actually sampled and processed drum samples.
The Down sides are the annoying vocals. The vocals are by Gary Cobain, half of FSOL, and they really don’t fit there.
So if you wanna surprise your hippy parents or if you wanna find out that psychedelia wasn’t actually invented by Simon Posford.
My favorites one are: 01.The Lovers, 03.The Mello Hippo Disco Show 05.Elysian Feels 08.Guru Song and the closing Galaxial Pharmaceutical.
All in this entire album is a must in every electronic music lover’s house. Certainly for those who wanna find out how Prog. Rock could sound today if it wasn’t killed by it’s own seriousness. My mark is 9.5/10 Best Ambient album of this year so far. Leaving behind a big gap above everything else that was released this year.
PS. Notice the same melody in “Meadows” as in “You’re still the one” by Shania Twain, which is a very known Canadian country singer. And after 2:40 kicks in banjo melody that sounds like Robby Williams’ “Millennium”
  Everyone in the world is doing something without me |
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Blind Mind
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
175
Posted : Oct 26, 2002 01:56
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I will try harder to get "this" !
- BEing mySELF |
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shahar
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
155
Posts :
2035
Posted : Dec 14, 2002 19:06
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So FSOL are finally back after a long long absence, and they give us a flip. A flip bound to leave disappointed people about. The Isness if different than anything FSOL have ever done, it feels like a journey back to the sources by the masters of electronic music. There's a lot of psychedelic 70s feel in here, a feel that in a way dominates the album. But there also a lot of music in here, music that can labeled under a lot of genres: psychedelic rock, trip-hop, ambient, ethnic chill, and even depressive British pop. But labeling music is not too important really, especially not when what we have here is such a deep and diverse creation.
The Isness is a long musical journey that the duo that revolutionized electronic music in the 90s offer us in the beginning of the new millenium, a journey that took 5 years to make and so it sounds. There's so much put into this album, an album that after 20 listening still shows me new things. An album to dive into and to relax to.
I probably wouldn't remember it the way I remember Dead Cities, it probably wouldn't have the same effect as Life Forms- but I have a feeling it might stay longer.
Bottom Line: Quality music is being made in the new millenium. Just beautiful- shed your expectation and open your mind and heart and dive into The Isness. I love it all, but favorite parts are: 1, 3(!!), 5, 8-10, 12(!), 13(!!!).
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"Be the change you want to see in the world!"
M.K. Gandhi
"There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self."
Aldous Huxley
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Pavel
Troll
Started Topics :
312
Posts :
8646
Posted : Oct 29, 2003 20:44
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Just heard it again this week and it still makes me this magic feeling.
Amazing album, a must for every chill-out fan.
Get it!
Everyone in the world is doing something without me |
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