Customer Reviews

Cydonia

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to admit to being pretty biased. I've been a fan of the Orb for probably 10 years now and have stuck with them through thick (Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, "Blue Room", Orblivion) and thin (Pomme Fritz)... Many web-savvy Orb fans may have heard (or heard of) the various differing advance versions of Cydonia that have been traded about since the album was put in limbo due to situations beyond their control (hmm... I notice they're no longer on longtime label Island Records). I had a copy of Cydonia version 1.0 last summer and am pleased to report that the official release is definitely worth purchasing still. It contains several new tracks not on the earlier versions (although it does leave a few off, too) and the whole thing sounds more produced and finished in general. For those who weren't so fortunate to hear that earlier non-release, the new album retains the thick dubby layered style we've seen Orb develop since '89 but even adds a new dimension with vocalists Aki Omori & Nina Walsh contributing actual (non-sampled, that is) vocals to two tracks each. The vocals work especially well on the stand-out track, "Once More" (featuring Aki) which sounds much stronger here than it did on Sasha & Digweed's mixed double-cd from last year (no disrespect to the dj's intended). Other standouds include the bouncy dub of "Promis" the slightly more subdued but still massive "Ghostdancing" (featuring Nina), the controlled mayhem of "A Mile Long Lump Of Lard", the slightly relaxed groove of "Hamlet of Kings", the off-the-wall vaguely retro "Thursday's Keeper" and the epic album closer "Terminus". Doubting Orb fans, unless you only like their mellower early stuff, should doubt no more. Anyone wanting to check out the Orb for the first time might do better with their best of set, U.F.Off, but should come back to this if they like that one.

I've been an Orb fan for the last seven years, and I've spent half of them waiting for this album. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the Orb for the first time. I have always been keen on the way Paterson and co. would create their tracks as auditory explorations, which they undertook at a leisurely pace. When I play Orbus Terrarum, I become immersed in a world of sound that unfolds at its own pace and creates its own rules. I've always loved the way the Orb densely layers its sound like a sonic sandwich.

Cydonia lacks the spirit of previous Orb efforts, in my opinion. The songs are too short, and instead of creating a musical terrain to explore, they present a single idea and play with it for a little while before moving on. In addition, I don't feel like the sounds themselves are as dense or complex as previous efforts. The songs aren't bad, per se, and there are no real stinkers, so you may think my rating is overly harsh. However, Cydonia lacks the qualities that made me a fan of the Orb in the first place without replacing them with something new.

I should also mention that this is the first Orb album that lacks anything resembling a theme (as far as I can tell, I could be wrong). Like I said, each Orb album sort of creates its own world of sound, but Cydonia sounds like a retread of the sounds of Orblivion. I haven't given up on the Orb, but if I have to wait another three years or so, it won't be with baited breath.

The Orb was one of the first acts in electronic music I really got into. Their smooth, chilled ambience was a great soundtrack to just relaxing and being mellow. "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" was a great, great album, and "U.F. Orb" is an absolute masterpiece. So when I heard of new Orb on the way, I was very eager.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as great as I had hoped. There are definite highlights, such as "Once More", "A Mile Long Lump Of Lard", "Terminus", "Hamlet of Kings", "Centuries", and "Plum Island", but there's a lot of filler too. It wouldn't have hurt to cut the length some. The production is wonderful, as always, but often it just disguises the emptiness that lies in the song.

I'd still rank it above "Orblivion" because of its' more cheerful vibe, but it's not the best out there. Pick up their first two albums, the live disc, and the greatest-hits compilation first.

Yes, this is a very different album from previous efforts, boiling the tracks down into actual seperate pieces is new for Alex and shows an interest in traditional song structure. Still hillarious, still trippy, still catchy. Including actual (not sampled) vocalists is also quite a step.

But what we tend to forget is that an Orb album, as good as it is by itself, also plays the role of providing fodder for the live shows which are always quite dense and intense. (and the point) I hope they come to America again, but I don't blame them if they don't. Best track: "Mile Long Lump of Lard."

I'm so happy to see so many people who didn't get exactly what they expected. The Orb blew electronic music so wide-open in the early 1990s, I can almost guarantee that your favorite "techno" or "drum 'n bass" group/DJ/"band"/whatever has a copy of "Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld" in their collection. Alex Patterson keeps us guessing again. I didn't like much on the first listen, but it is ORB, no doubt. OH WAIT! The Orb did do something new...they used LIVE VOCALISTS. They used real singers, not just DJ-geeks with microphones and vocoders. All of you who are whining about "Cydonia" as a re-hash of what has already been done should open up your ears and your minds a little bit. LX and co. deliver another gem.

Alex Patterson is getting older. This is not necessarily a bad thing, I mean, basically this is an Orb album. The tracks are everything I'd expect an Orb album to be, which means that the Orb has reached the point where they have a formula that they feel represents what they want people to think they are feeling. A band's best work is usually produced during the period when they are trying to invent something or discover a form of expressing what they are feeling through sound. Does Aerosmith suck now that they aren't cokeheads? Do the Rolling Stones suck now that they've made a Pepsi commercial? Some people think so. What is missing from this album is the groundbreaking stuff. The Orb's best years were in the KLF-Weston period between the KISS EP and the Orbus Terrarum LP. The Orb is still making great music, but they aren't young anymore, and Dr. LX isn't doing sheets of acid every night running chill out rooms in Bristol. This is an Orb album, it's Orb's sound and that sound is here to stay. One might say that this album was made for the fans that grew up with Alex's sound and have matured with it. With Cydonia, the Orb have crafted an accessible album which I like a lot, but it's not revolutionary, and it won't make you trip your balls off.

The problem with this record is not that there's anything wrong with it but that it's derivative. Patterson seems to be filling in the gaps of territory that he's already mapped. Now, it's still impressive territory, but there's just nothing here that wasn't done earlier, and more spectacularly. And in the end there's nothing to hold onto in the same way as earlier records had. So if you've been to Orb land and loved it you'll like this record. If you're less familiar with the band, this isn't the place to start. And if you like Orb and respect them and already have Orblivion and Ultraworld (as I do, for instance) then this is probably an unnecessary release that will sound just fine the first two times you play it and then it will disappear into your record collection, never to be remembered again.

this album is not what you expect from the orb, but maybe should have. true enough, "cydonia" blends elements from earlier orb albums, and that is what is good about it. practically pop, but not. first track comes on strong, almost ready for fm, but not quite, as orb has preserved the underlying techno sound. track 2 returns to a harder edge, the whole album flows this way. only negative, last two tracks kind of retro to past orb efforts. yes, this effort not as out there as others, but a good listen. may get old after a while, but there is other music to listen to. i like this album.

The new Orb album is finally here, and more than worth the wait. Just popped it out of the box, listening to the end track, 'Terminus',and i'm turning to jelly...The entire album is amazing. I'm assuming if you're already in Orbit then you already have this album or it's on its way...If you're not a fan, or have only heard just a little Orb, get this album... You won't be dissapointed...Tracks like 'Turn It Down', 'Mile Long Lump of Lard', and 'Thursday's Keeper' hit just the right levels of enjoyment...Hell, the whole of the album hit's that mark, you know which 'mark' i mean.... Get it as soon as you can, plug in the headphones, relax on a pillow and close your eyes... Time for a trip to Mars for the cost of a cd.

I have been a huge fan of The Orb since I first heard U.F.Orb in college. After a painfully long wait, Cydonia is FINALLY out. There is no doubt that this is the Orb within the first few seconds of track one. This is both a good and a bad thing. The frequent addition of breathy My Bloody Valentine-ish vocals is a nice surprise but for the most part, this is Orb by the numbers. There aren't any extreme stylistic surprises ala Pomme Fritze but, this is still a solid 68 minutes of great Orb tracks. There are some excellent spacey headphone tracks, great dub/house stuff, a smattering of drum and bass, the standard pallette of electronic music. The Orbs streangth in later years was playing with the electronic form and turning your expectations upside down. Cydonia doesn't carry as many of these moments but it is certainly well worth getting and sounds great.