LEMON JELLY
Lost Horizons (Impotent Fury)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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Lost Horizons easily ranks as one of the best electronic albums of the year, only it's not really electronic. Amid the computer samples is a nice amalgam of acoustic guitar, the occasional flute, jazzy brass and piano filling out the synth bass, drum tracks and other keyboards.

Lemon Jelly is the duo of Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen from the United Kingdom. They keep most beats pretty moderate and in general this is listening music, not dance material, though it does have its share of hooks. There isn't much singing; the vocals are more spoken word type but they use them in clever ways, and the general tone of the album is light and melodic instead of moody.

Early favorites include "Ramblin Man," a kind of interview with a carefree spirit who's compelled to travel to all parts of the world, and "Space Walk," which features ersatz astronaut chatter over a mostly acoustic groove with a bit of scratch thrown in. The most upbeat track is "Return To Patagonia" which has some great horns in it, and the mysterious "Experiment Number Six" seems to chronicle a test drive of some new chemical preparation.

Deakin and Franglen have a great touch on the production. Each track starts smoothly, builds inventively and then winds down to a logical conclusion, but at the same time they all segue sweetly into the next track. It reminds me quite a lot of Underworld's work, or in some ways early Moby, but it's not as outrageous as The Chemical Brothers' studio artifacts. Bottom line, there isn't a bad track here. Lemon Jelly is indeed tasty; it's a sure candidate for one of my Best Five choices this year.

© 2002 - Rusty Pipes