Customer Reviews

Lost Horizons

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's not often i'd use the word "whimsy" to describe a disc, but it's particularly apt here. Much like the Lemonjelly.ky single compilation, Lost Horizons is filled with a laid-back sense of joy. The one-two opening punch of "Elements" and "Space Walk" is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, and "Nice Weather For Ducks" will keep it there.

People who get this expecting a laid-back 'chill' or 'lounge' disc are going to be in for a big suprise. The music is actually quite complex, and stands up to close listening very well. The mixing of real insturments (accoustic guitars show up on a number of tracks) with the digital is done amazingly well. While tracks like "Rambling Man" or "Closer" might call to mind the music of Blue States, Zero 7, or Four Tet, the vocal snippets Lemon Jelly lays on top give them a feel all their own and keep the generally light and upbeat theme of the album.

In short, if you loved Lemonjelly.ky, you'll be glad to know this is at least as good as that brilliant collection. And if you don't own Lemonjelly.ky, you can't go wrong getting either of these great albums.

According to the sticker on my promo copy of this CD, Rolling Stone likes it (even though I heard they hated Aphex Twin's twisted masterpiece Drukqs), and it's not hard to tell why. This is techno even baby boomers would love, full of folksy acoustic instruments and gentle, childlike humor - Boards Of Canada vs. the Soggy Bottom Boys.

The album is conceived as a piece with an inner logic, unlike Lemonjelly.ky, which was compiled from previously released EP's. Just as things reach a giddy peak with "Nice Weather for Ducks," doubt is introduced with the creepy "Experiment No. 6." It's deliberately jarring. The rest of the CD seems to accept doubt as part of life and finds reason to resume celebrating anyway. A lot of classical composers don't pull that type of thing off, let alone electronic artists.

Lemon Jelly don't hop genres, they transcend them. This is good music, whether you're a rocker, an IDM'er, or whatever.

I was introduced to Lemon Jelly a couple of years ago through the brilliant 'Staunton Lick' yet it was only recently that I finally got my act together and bought Lost Horizons. It is such a fantastic album, and in a world where chill out music is becoming bland and homogenous, Lemon Jelly is a breath of fresh air. Actually, more like a gust that blows all the other mediocrity away. Their sound is a difficult one to describe - the best one I can come up with and have used before is the great production of Moby crossed with the eclectic sampling of The Avalanches crossed with the unique sound of children's music. Elements, Ramblin' Man and Nice Weather For Ducks are my favourites. But to get a true appreciation you must hear Lemon Jelly for yourself. Take a risk and buy this cd.

Okay...I stumbled on Lemon Jelly while visiting a museum gift shop. I found out whom that smooth music was created by and bought their CD at my first chance. Lost Horizons is their second CD in my collection and I'm enjoying it even more than the original collection "lemonjelly.ky".

Their smooth-toned music is punctuated by lyrical speech samples that weave sonic stories. They are less silly ("c'mon baby" & "he's a big fellow") and arbitrary now and, instead, follow related themes. There is richness to the music that exists at the same time that it is minimalist. I've been listening to this CD for several days in my car, never growing tired of the themes and tunes. I love all but one song: Experiment No. 6 is just too weird for me. I spook and skip it on the replay.

Bottom line...You will be delighted with this CD. Top Ratings!

Eccentricity is one of the few things that England excels at and this album captures English eccentricity in all its wistful, slightly mad beauty. From the artwork on its stunning packaging - designed by Fred Deakin, one of the two musicians behind Lemon Jelly, which perfectly encapsulates the marriage of city-beats & pastoral folk that's inside - everything about "Lost Horizons" is carefully designed to gently ease you into an English summer's "Mad Hatters tea party" of strange, controlled and in the end joyously reflective music.

Chill out? possibly... electro-jazz? partly... but categorising "Lost Horizons" is pointless. Like Mike Oldfield's equally odd and quintessentially English "Tubular Bells" thirty years before or United Future Organisation's mid 90's outings (two of its closest reference points) it bends established musical formats into something totally different through hypnotically repeated loops, the use of a huge range of instruments, weird, almost comical voice-overs and, most importantly, inherently uplifting chord sequences that make you feel "happy". First time through may leave you totally bemused, but beware... this is highly addictive stuff and before you know where you are you will be playing it over & over again as Lemon Jelly draw you inexorably back into their beautifully bizarre world.

And if you like it, as you will, check out Amazon.co.uk for albums by Elephant Talk - an obscure and similarly eclectic English group whose fusions of folk, jazz & city-beats are equally addictive.

Firstly, I rarely, if *ever* give anything this high a rating. But this is a case where I think it merits it. It's just that good.

This CD is simply a joy to listen to. I have listened to it many, many times now and it just gets better. The only track I don't like to listen to that much is "Experiment No. 6", and that's not because it's a bad track, on the contrary, I think it's very good. It's just that it's quite dark and isn't upbeat like the rest of the album. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy dark music from time to time as well, but I just feel it kind of brings the mood down of the album a little.

But that's a minor quibble. If you are a music fan, *any* kind of music fan, *get this album*! This is music with a soul. If it doesn't give you goosebumps, check your pulse!

-Adam

As a listener new to the chill-out genre, I came across this artist by happenstance and was hooked at first song. I have since determined that if my life ever became a movie I would insist on a Lemon Jelly song to be played during the rolling credits.

People either really like the group or hate it. The appeal in Lemon Jelly is found in its creativity and drive-- all songs start with a simple premise and through a new instrument, beat, or sound, it grows into a beautiful complex array of diverse sounds. The downside is that some can perceive the slow evolution to be repetitive and it does make for a very lengthy track. Regardless, the songs invoke several different emotions in the listener:

Some of the more light-hearted tracks include 'Spacewalk and 'Nice Weather for Ducks'. 'Spacewalk' is particularly clever, incorporating Neil Armstrong's comments about landing on the moon with various instruments. 'Nice Weather for Ducks' is a personal favorite based on how playful it is (the best indicator is in the lyrics-- "all the ducks are swimming in the water, tra la la la la la" against the sound of raindrops).

Every now and then, some tracks border on creepiness. 'Experiment number 6' is one such song that gives off a vibe of worry and even intrusion. 'Homage to Patagonia' is a song that can best be described as music one would hear when walking into a chic (albeit overpriced) ethnic bar.

Essentially, Lemon Jelly is a take-it-or-leave-it group based on how eccentric the music is. Listen to some sample tracks, because should it be appealing, the listener will be hooked just as I am. Because listening to one track will tell the listener in 5 minutes what takes hours to explain in a review, go listen to a sample. It's worth a shot.

OMG! Get this album! Wait until you hear, "Nice weather for ducks!" It starts out with a British guy singing a nursery rhyme, adds great accoustic guitars, segues into a sixties-ish Bacharach-like movie soundtrack with a big beat, takes off like a rocket into the stratosphere with a disco flavored section, flips inside out and becomes a latin salsa dance number, flips inside out again and races along like a Sunday drive in a race car, and then lands gently. What a brilliant musical trip! These guys are fantastic. The pieces on the beauty of space and the medical experiment are also great. I found only one dull piece on this album but what a happy, giddy, goofy, danceable album this is! I have 50 chill albums and this is, easily, the cleverest and most sophisticated of them all. Get it!

... but this CD breaks that bad habit. When I heard "space walk" on the radio station here, I knew I had to get this cd... I may the right choice.
This is the feel-good CD I have been waiting for. Hard to describe, the cd reminds me of a cross between Fatboy Slim, Groove Armada, Propellerheads, and all the other house/techno/jazzy/funky type stuff you like with mellow guitar chords and an overall ambient feel. You have the track listing above - but here's the specifics
cd starts with elements - gets you right into the mood. The "doop doo doo's" are awesome (once you hear it you will know what I mean). Nice segue to Space Walk, possibly the standout track on the CD. Ramblin' man and return to patagonia are next, which bring kind of a darker feel but flow perfectly with the rest of the songs. Nice weather for ducks is my favorite track, and it even blends in some other types of music (ala Phish's 'punch you in the eye'). Experiment number six is weird at first, but you get used to it. The CD rounds out with closer and the curse of ka'zar, two feel good tracks that leave you pressing the repeat button again and again.

I highly recommend this cd; it is the first one of the hundreds I own to merit a review to urge others to buy it. I already ordered the back-ordered lemonjelly.ky cd, and I can't wait to hear it.
I hope this was easy to read and that you all enjoy this masterpiece.

I was introduced to this music by an ex-Londoner. The music is hard to explain as its such a brilliant fusion of many sounds but I highly recommend it to anyone wanting and open to something different. I especially like "Return to Patagonia" and "Nice Weather for Ducks" with its use of imaginative use of percussion.