Wonky
Orbital's first album in eight years, featuring a collaboration with Zola Jesus, finds the Hartnoll brothers doing what they've always done best.
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Orbital’s first LP since reforming in 2008 initially strikes out into familiar territory: the opening bars of One Big Moment revisit the combination of multilayered spoken-word samples and wistful, glassy chords perfected on 1994’s Snivilisation. Yet it’s soon apparent that the Hartnoll brothers haven’t returned for nostalgia's sake alone. Several tracks embrace dubstep rhythms: the most successful venture, Distractions, entwines hypnotic female vocal samples over intriguingly erratic synth melodies and stuttering beats.
Here’s every true fan’s worst hyphenated word: ‘come-back’. And Orbital are attempting a badly advised one.
The titans of 90s electronica still sound fresh, thanks to vintage synths and a dose of dubstep, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong>
Over a decade ago, The Altogether confused Orbital’s legions of fans and seemed to paint the duo out of the rave scene completely. Indeed, though 2004’s The Blue Album was an improvement of sorts, it did little to stave off the fears that the Hartnoll brothers were falling out of touch, rehashing old ideas without
Orbital - Wonky review: In forgetting how to age gracefully, Orbital run the risk of tarnishing their reputation even further
13 years since their last great album, Orbital come good. CD review by Thomas H Green