Customer Reviews

Outerbeats

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

 

 

I'd only heard a handful of songs from Malory's first CD, which has sold out completely. It is THAT HARD to find! After hearing tracks like "Beauty" and "Lord of the Rings", I was willing to give "Outerbeats" a chance, and I was quite satisfied. Malory is treading the shoegazery ground once tread by Slowdive & Lush; ethereal & indistinct blend of male & female vocals, hypnotic beats and guitars given the reverse-reverb treatment. While some of the tracks in the middle sound rather similar, the disc is excellent altogether. Standout tracks include the first three, as well as "Space in Your Mind", which alternates between subdued guitar-work and the sonic torrents in a a manner I haven't heard since Chapterhouse's "Autosleeper". In keeping with the shoegazer tendency of lyrical abstraction, even the lyrics in this song seem to bounce back & forth between German & English. If you're looking for new shoegaze thrills, pick this up, and while you're at it, look for The Emerald Down's "Scream the Sound" CD too.

Remebering ride, slowdive, chapterhouse and co. Malory has captured the magic of the forgetton era - shoegaze, dreampop era- with the onset of the later 90's britpop scene. Interestingly they are from Germany, and not from England, the birthplace of the glory days of showgaze. Checkout Clairecords and Alison Records, the indie labels that are bringing back the glory days too.

Although i bought this CD used it plays very well and also the case is in eccelent condition.Half of the songs are really amazing.Raccomend it for every Malory's fan.

Malory has perfected the 'wall of sound' genre. The instrumentation and vocals mesh perfectly and create wonderful soundscapes. Each of their release are five star, must own 'albums'. I never cared much for the shoegazing sound until I came across groups like Malory, The Meeting Places, Engineers, Helen Stellar and Tears Run Rings.

Y'know that zone just before you slip into a nap? A safe place with no hard edges, where you recall spoken words and images as if they're occurring now? "Outerbeats" is the soundtrack for a tour of that "midconsciousness." It's neither as lockstep as trance nor as snoozy as pure ethereal.

The vocals are usually a simple male-female harmony, and the style fits really well. The opening "Lake of Doubts (Maladon Remix)" starts with a drum loop, but fear not. Most of Jorg Jakel's percussion is hands-on or at least sounds that way. Opaque layers of electric guitar round out the album's dreamy overall sound. Taken together, these elements yield a blend of Lycia with Faith and Disease. Very easygoing, but with enough beat to keep you just this side of zzzzzz......

"Outerbeats" is refreshingly gentle, given how many Front 242/Nitzer Ebb clones come out of Germany. It's a cheerful take on the "shoegazer" sound. If you like Projekt bands, you need this album. Recommendations: the etheral pop "Painted Dreams" and the jet-stream rocker "Space in Your Mind."