THE ORB
Bicycles and Tricycles (Sanctuary)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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No, this is not an electronic tribute to Lance Armstrong. The joke in the name has more to do with frequencies. The Orb has been a favorite purveyor of British Ambient House Electronica ever since "Blue Room" came out in 1992. Dr. Alex Paterson and his main collaborator Jim Cauty were helping to invent the genre as far back as 1989. Bicycles and Tricycles is their first album since 2001. On it Paterson is working more with Thomas Feldman this time but Cauty is still listed in the credits.

The directions on the inside of the cover say "This recording should be heard in Komfort," which won't come as a great surprise to Orb fans. Their style is a kind of slowed down techno that's much easier to have around than most dance electronica. It helps if you have a sub woofer on your system too. Vocals are mostly spoken samples (thankfully not repeated ad infinitum) or rapped a little. In "The Land Of Green Ginger," it's kind of a fairy tale that's told. I could use some real singing like say Delerium goes for, but there are lovely synth bass lines here, sometimes in a kind of New Age Reggae, sometimes more like Art Rock. Favorite tracks include "Hell's Kitchen," and From A Distance," the aforementioned "The Land Of Green Ginger," and "Dilmun."

Bicycles and Tricycles is not a great divergence from their earlier recordings, but if you enjoy electronica you can never go wrong with The Orb. It should be standard issue for those 4AM mental excursions of yours.

© 2004 - Rusty Pipes