Review of Seen Single by International Observer
| News & Reviews |
| 10. International Observer Seen (Different Drummer) |
| Tom Bailey is a name that should ring a bell with anyone who grew up in the mid eighties. After heading the chart topping Thompson Twins the quieter and less celebrity conscious surrounds of New Zealand beckoned. Judging by International Observers new album his spatial new home must have significantly influenced the music he now makes. Within the first few seconds of Seen you can hear that his enthusiasm for electronic pop has been dampened. Instead he has adopted the dub reggae familiarity of New Zealand. Alongside Maoiri Rakai Karaitiana, Bailey has managed to create a gentle, rolling and unpretentious vision of dub. Dont come expecting a ballsy, attitude-laden bag of beats and basslines. Seen is exactly the opposite. It is a relentlessly chilled instrumental journey through electronic swathed soundscapes. Purely roots and almost hypnotic in its construction this is an album to chill to. High moments include the Nightmares on Wax style, gently luminescent keyboards of Flip Flop Cemetery and optimistic harmonica sound of Now A Major Motion Picture. |
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