The Blue Album (Orbital Music)
The fraternal duo Paul and Phil Hartnoll have established themselves as one of Britain’s most original electronic acts, gaining a reputation for excellent live shows and ambitious recordings. After leaving their major label, they are now bowing out with a farewell album and final clutch of shows, including this month’s Glastonbury. Most bands dissolve in acrimony long after their creative juices run dry, but the Hartnolls are ending on a well-planned high. Diverse and dynamic, The Blue Album is their strongest work for years.
Many stand-out elements from the duo’s canon enjoy a lap of honour here, from soundtrack moodscapes such as Transient to the psychedelically warped children’s TV surrealism of Bath Time. The growling sub-bass trance of Tunnel Vision merits comparison with some of Orbital’s finest proto-rave anthems, while the child-like electro-Muzak of Easy Serv evokes a thoroughly English hinterland of crumbling seaside towns and Monty Python whimsy.
As ever, guest vocalists have been selected with sly wit. Christopher Ecclestone’s sampled rant from the messianic TV drama The Second Coming brings a Chemical Brothers-style hooligan swagger to the propulsive robo-funk of You Lot. The Hartnolls also acknowledge the Mael brothers by looping a demented Sparks refrain into the jabbering gallop of Acid Pants. From Sevenoaks to Ibiza via Neptune’s outer moons, let Orbital take you on one last magnificent journey.
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Stephen Dalton