Electronica perennials
Orbital faded very suddenly. In 1999 (circa
Middle of Nowhere), ten years after their debut, the Hartnoll brothers sounded as invigorated and exciting as they had at the beginning of their career; two years later came
The Altogether, which made them appear as confused as
Eric Clapton's ill-fated T.D.F. project and as uninspired as
Juno Reactor. By mid-2004, they had announced their retirement and revealed that
Blue Album would be their last. The announcement was a surprise (if not an unexpected one), but the sound of the record that followed isn't. As could be predicted after the scattershot
Altogether,
Blue Album returns them to the green fields of their early days and positively brims with back-to-basics techno. The evidence peaks with "Pants" and "Acid Pants" (the latter is a collaboration with another famous brothers combo,
Sparks). Both of the tracks revel in the type of glazed-eye acid patterns, ringing melodies, and stark rhythms that evoke decade-old
Orbital singles like "Choice" and "Satan." Another
Orbital prototype is the dire-warning track, here titled "You Lot" and featuring a sample from Christopher Eccleston's speech in the British TV movie The Second Coming (he's weary at the ease with which scientists play God). A few tracks reveal (again) the Hartnolls' early fascination with spy or sci-fi soundtracks, but here too there's little ground they haven't worked over several times before. When
Orbital were busy collaborating with
Metallica's
Kirk Hammett or attempting yet more aggro-techno fusions, this was exactly what fans begged for: a return to basics. Unfortunately, now that they have it,
Blue Album will inspire little reaction other than an urge to return to brilliant records like
Orbital 2 and
Snivilisation. ~ John Bush