| Simon
Green aka Bonobo is back with nine perfectly formed tracks
on a perfectly formed album. No huge, bloated, over-conceptualised
rottage for the monkey man. He gets in, does what he has
to do, gets out.
From the opener, "Noctuary," with it's
creepy stoned-Hammer feel, through the headnod sitar-funk
of "Flutter," on into the Rhodes-meets-Gamelan
of "D Song," the first third of the record
sets out the tone for what is to follow - all beautfiully
melodic and perfectly assembled but with enough of
a creeping undertow to stop the music becoming empty
or saccharine. "Change Down" is all double
bass folk and cut-up drums, "Wayward Bob"
is a devilish waltz, while single "Pick Up"
is a straight funk 'n' flute throw down. "Something
For Windy"sounds like a dub of a postman on his
rounds, "Nothing Owed" is epic pastoralia,
while "Light Pattern" rounds things off
with what sounds like the theme to the best TV programme
never made.
With all instruments played, sampled and sequenced
by Green's own fair hand, there is a consistency here,
both within the tunes and across the record that crate
diggers can only dream of. There is real development,
the building of moods and feelings, a genuine attempt
to make great music which is incidentally computer
music. He may make a monkey of himself, but he's no
musical mug
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