Caltrops - No Stairway to Heaven - Quick and dirty reviews.

Forum Overview :: No Stairway to Heaven

by mrs. johnson 06/17/2003, 3:15am PDT

Cinematic Orchestra - The Man With a Movie Camera -- This is not the track from one of their LPs. This is a soundtrack done for an old Russian movie. The tracks range from quick and etheral to lengthy and bordering on trip hop. It flows smoothly and fantasticly, as the line between jazz and electronica is blurred some more by emotionally charged melodies and extremely well placed rhythms. Recommended.

Ulrich Schnauss - A Strangely Isolated Place -- This newcomer to the vague genre of IDM has quickly established himself as the king of expansive noises and hypnotic beats. A midtempo electronic album which doesn't really resemble any other artist enough to draw a clear comparison. Not very good dancing music, but headphone euphoria, if I have a say. Recommended.

Ed Rush & Optical - The Original Doctor Shade -- The duo well known for their dark and gritty style have abandonded it almost entirely. This album is highly focused on exciting basslines and progressing melodies. The last track is pure house, and the whole album seems to be one large exercise in exciting jungle. Worth a listen or two.

DJ Hype - 1973 Recon -- After years of dominating DJ competitions and creating quite a few mix albums, DJ Hype has finally lived up to his own name and released an album of his own material. The material is varied and there are guest rappers on most tracks. Frankly, this is pretty far away from DNB, which is his home-genre. This is closer to a hip-hop or rap album. Whether it is good is mostly a matter of taste, but the production of DJ Hype is very careful and interesting.

Bonobo - Dial M For Monkey -- Easily my favorite album of the whole bunch, this is Bonobo's second official release. Only 9 tracks, but every single one is a perfectly formed downtempo masterpiece. I've already listened to this one maybe twenty times and I'm nowhere near getting tired of it.

the mrs.