Customer Reviews

More Better Different

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mick Karn's "More Better Different" is a continuation of the evolution he's undergone during his entire career-- he's been moving into a pseudo-electronica direction for a while now, and without the presence of a live drummer, this direction is emphasized on this recording. Driven by programmed rhythms and samples, Karn sometimes takes it a bit too far-- the samples can get annoying ("Atyan B-Boot"), the beats and synth emphasis somewhat canned and lifeless ("It's His Birthday This Year", "The Show"), and the songwriting can be lacking at times ("The End Gag"), but there are some real gems on the record.

Opener "The Jump" is in many ways a definitive song for the album-- programmed rhythms, guitar emphasis, and a liquidy bassline typical of Karn. But this album is no one-trick pony-- take the only vocal piece on the album, the spoken-word "Never Thought", with its mournful bass line supported by clarinets, it sets a mood of depression and anxiety and reminds us just what an amazing bassist Karn is. Truthfully, it may have been better without the vocal as its so evocative as a piece of music, but nonetheless its brilliant. And closer "Great Day in the Morning" features some of the most unique material that Karn has recorded.

In the end, this feels more like a bridge to the future than a statement-- like Karn is looking to define where he'll go next-- its interesting enough to make it worth hearing, but its not essential material.

Compared to his previous release, "Each eye a path", this album feels to me similar in instrumentation, but it feels, shall we say, darker and heavier. That about sums it up - at least, if you're familiar with EEAP). Only one vocal track this time, but considerably more drums (or drum samples, as the case may be), drum&bass-style. Karn is (as pretty much always) phenomenal on the fretless bass, just because he's got such a unique sound and way of playing it. The rest of the album is mostly driven by samples, including some strange and interesting ones (is that a very heavily processed matrix printer on track 5?). I recommend this album if you're into fretless bass, electronic drum&bass, or when you like your world music influences. Thanks for reading this.

3 1/2 Stars, rounded up. I was hoping for the best for this album, as 'Each Eye a Path,' his last release, was disappointing. Aside from the track 'The Show,' most of the album just does not work that well. It simply lacks the vibrancy, energy and color of his previous works. This could be in part because this appears to be a purely Mick album, as no guest musicans are credited (No Jansen, No Torn) All the drum tracks are sampled, and Mick does very little, if any vocals. He definitely has some interesting ideas here, they just don't seem to materialize as they should. Come on Mick, we know you can do better, remember Dalis Car? Remember Titles?