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Review: |
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This album was originally released in 2001, and has recently been re-released for your listening pleasure. People always tell me that electronica seems dated almost immediately, but this record still sounds pretty fresh to me. This is an album of thudding beats, lush guitars, and beautiful synths.
I have previously reviewed Hopkins'
latest EP, and that
is pretty much a continuation of what you are going to find
here. However, on this full-length, i find that his ideas are
better developed. Well, more fully developed at least. Specifically,
on that EP, i enjoyed the
tune Song One, with its addition
of drum samples to Hopkins' ambient electronica. Well,
this is an entire album of that sort of thing, and if you liked
that tune, i wager that you will find much to enjoy here.
Standout tracks include Lost In Thought, which features
a happy keyboard riff over a nice loping beat. This tune is
sort of the midway point between early Aphex Twin and DJ Shadow,
which is a pretty good combination. Then there is Inner Peace (it's
an introspective album, at least titularly), which adds a light guitar bit
to the keys and beats. This adds in a slight M83 or Lemon Jelly sort of feel
to the tune, and again it is good head bopping music to just sit and listen
to.
I guess that Brits would classify this as "downtempo", and i confess that i don't
see how Mr. Hopkins would fill a dancefloor. Still, this is a really nice album,
and fans of Boards of Canada, Casino
vs. Japan, Biosphere, and similar artists
would do well to check it out. |
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