Customer Reviews

This Utopia

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"This Utopia" is exquisite. The debut CD from Spylab is a collaboration between Kenny Inglis and Jon Gillies with singer/songwriter Sophie Bancroft. The result is a smooth funky fusion of jazz, electronica, and trippy dance beats. Bancroft co-wrote five of the songs (This Utopia, Celluloid Hypnotic, Loveless, Breathe Easy, In The Shade) on which she also appears as vocalist. Her breathy cool low key voice blends well with Inglis and Gillies lush layered musical style. The instrumental tracks are just as strong and satisfying.

I imagine this is the soundtrack for a dream in which Angelo Badalamenti meets William Orbit and Morcheeba at an anniversary party for the Swans. The music floats effortlessly and hooks you in with simultaneously elusive and infectious arrangements. Vocal sampling and dubbing are used wisely and with effective restraint. Hopefully, experimentation like this is something to look forward to on future releases. There are no duds here.

I first heard spylab's "celluloid hypnotic" last spring through a music sampler from the now defunct (but absolutely incredible) Revolution magazine. The track was such a standout with it's dark dreamy beats, soothing synthesizers and lush vocals of sophie bancroft that I kept it on repeat for days on end while searching to no avail for more spylab material. Imagine my surprise almost a year later when I discovered this talented duo finally released a full length debut (sophie does guest vocals. apparently she's a huge talent in Scotland, a classically trained musician who writes and performs her own material and is in huge demand as a vocal coach). Immediately I rushed to the music store to purchase this and was not disappointed with what I heard.

"celluloid hypnotic" appears here as the disc opener in a slightly extended mildly tweeked version of the original I initially heard. The dark dreaminess is still here with some extra synths and extended vocals thrown in for good measure. The overall effect is slightly diminished from the tight production of the single but not to the point where the track loses any of its intensity.

"this utopia", the title track, has some cool downtempo beats with sophie crooning seductively over the mix. Simple yet chilling.

"in the shade" borrows a page from massive attack but when the electric guitars kick into the last half of the track it's not intrusive as with massive attack. Instead it swirls around with the rest of the sounds as sophie sings "I need a little sunlight in the shade of you." What a great line!

"breathe easy" hands down is the best track here. This is spylab. This is their sound. I can not even begin to explain how incredible this track is with its simply complex drum and bass beats and sophie's voice. God! That voice!

"loveless" is absolute sugar, pure pop that could have been pure cheese but in the hands of spylab it's pure gold.

"the call" is the only irritating track here. It starts off with a great beat but then it falls apart with the sampled voice of some guy rambling on about mobile phones controlling your mind. Keep the beats; get rid of the rant.

The instrumental tracks remind me a lot of portishead or at least what portishead SHOULD be doing (and I usually NEVER compare anyone to portishead). Really good downtempo. I like the spiritual message and sampled opera singer of "façade". Overall, the feel of the disc is cinematically dark, moody and hypnotic full of secrets and despair. You're taken along on a journey that as dark as it may seem is purely enjoyable and absolutely dreamy.

This Utopia is what trip hop is all about.

Spylab's "This Utopia" was one of those CD's that I would always sample in the record store and debate on getting only to decide on a lesser more generic CD that left me hanging...Finally, after musical boredom--as I'm sure any true music fan can attest to--I decided to go and get "This Utopia." WHY THE HECK DIDN'T I BUY THIS CD SOONER????????????????? I mean, I do love "Celluloid Hypnotic" and "Music Box"--so why did it take me so long to get this wonderfully produced CD?? And they DO NOT sound like Massive Attack!! SO PLEASE REVIEWERS STOP MAKING COMPARISONS! Spylab gives your originality and their music induces so many emotions within you that you may need to seek psychiatric help after one listening. The grooves are infectious and can be played at parties or when you're alone chillin'...the vocals are beautiful and airy and minimal...no additives or preservatives here...Sophie Bancroft does a bewitching job on "Celluloid Hypnotic", "This Utopia", "In the Shade" and my favorite-- "Loveless". This group, in my opinion--and we all have them--can hold their own against Massive Attack, Portishead and whoever else you guys want to compare them to!

This music is stunning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where have Spylab been all my life?? I was expecting something more like that of Guidance's normal output, but this is completely different and utterly brilliant. Listening to it from start to finish i feel like i'm inside a storybook, lifting me up with each track then dropping me down as we hit one of the scenes. As 'Asylum' fades out i'm left hanging in mid air, wanting it to go on. Superb production, really punchy yet dirty enough to give it a dark rainy streets sort of feel. Undoubtedly the best album that i've heard in a long, long time.

This Utopia, is the groundbreaking debut album from live Glasgow based electronic outfit, SPYLAB.
SPYLAB, a.k.a. Kenny Inglis and Jon Gillies, met back in 1992 while working in the same record store
and soon afterwards began recording together with whatever equipment they could beg, borrow, buy or
build. Six years later, the duo officially founded SPYLAB, based upon a fundamentally live philosophy,
showing up to rock the dance floor armed with a cache of electronic devices. From sweaty basements and
dingy underground bars to muddy open air festivals, SPYLAB turned out a string of memorable live
shows which garnered rave reviews and helped them to forge the dynamic sound that became the
foundation of their debut album. This Utopia is a cerebral and cinematic exercise in electronic counter
culture that walks the thin blue line between the moodiness of Massive Attack and the technological
acumen of Orbital, Moby and Meat Beat Manifesto. Warm spine tingling soundscapes gracefully give
way to moody melancholic ballads, dark suspenseful interludes and body rocking pyrotechnics, all
beautifully gift wrapped by Sophie Bancroft's sultry, soul stirring vocals. State-of-the-art wiretapped
grunge electronica guaranteed to unite music lovers across the indie/dance divide. Spylab! Because people
are ready to rock again!

In the cd case they have a small sentence that speaks of music helping guide us along our spiritual journey.
I am defenitely not disappointed with this cd! All the tracks are awesome, just pop it in and listen to it from start to finish. It defenitely not background music, it takes you on a journey that leads you in the end to whatever you were looking for.
I would reccommend this cd to anyone who loves blasting music while cleaning the pad, throwing a chill party, making love, or driving on a long road trip. It applies to all of these circumstances.
Buy it, you will not be disappointed!

....so what!!! They take a good idea and run with it.....this is far more fun than Massive Attack ever was (...with none of that phony angst, no turntablist cliches, no tired rapping) with a tad more quanitity to offer in the diva-vocalist department. Easily a contender as the sleeper triphop album of the new season. An accomplished debut album!

There is only one word that can describe this album - fantastic!!

This album reminds me a lot of Portishead, but not quite as depressing. Sophie Bancroft has a beautiful voice, and the vocals are quite ethereal. Mixed with some nice downtempo/trip hop tracks. If you are into the downtempo/trip hop thing, I would definately recommend this CD!!

Spylab's "This Utopia" is one of those CDs that are custom-designed for deep, meditative headphone listening. Unless you're paying close attention, the beats and loops are very repetitive. New sounds and instruments are slowly, slowly layered in. No dramatic changes are in evidence. The music is slow, sparse, relatively uninspired, and contains nothing terribly exciting or even creative.

Unfortunately, this CD is thus relegated to the "background music" category, and even then you may find yourself being mildly annoyed by the repetition. You know the feeling - you're not really paying much attention to the music, but then you slowly start to feel that the CD is skipping and playing the same 5-second sound bite over and over.

What about the vocalist? Again, nothing thrilling. She doesn't really "sing," per se, in several of the songs. It's more along the lines of "moaning" and "whining" through them. Oftentimes there are no words in evidence, just her whispered, breathy voice droning on. I suppose her vocals are supposed to convey emotion and deep feeling, but to me it sounds like she's just being lazy.

Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with using the human voice as just another instrument, without words. Applied creatively, this can be used to fantastic effect (see "Conjure One," a much more ambitious CD). But here, it just adds to the abject boredom and remarkable monotony.

There are far more interesting and musically satisfying releases out there in the "trip hop" genre: Luminous, the aforementioned Conjure One, Baby Fox, Smith & Mighty, Olive, Artefact, etc. All of these, in my opinion, are simply better in every way than Spylab.