Hot on the heels of their 25th anniversary, electronic cosmonauts The Orb return to Earth. History of the Future Part 2 takes another look at what makes them such an enduring act.
This time, they focus on their 21st-century output. If these album tracks, curios and rarities are anything to go by, the group are still more than a match for their 90s heyday. The familiarly uplifting sound of tracks like ‘Vuja De’ is present and correct. However, it’s when the group add a throb of gleeful malice to their sound that they truly stand out.
‘From A Distance’ and ‘Prime Evil’ stomp along relentlessly. Sinister synth swathes drag the listener along strange, unnerving tangents.
Read more: Cat City: Where Is Sarawak Has a Feline Fixation?
Elsewhere, ‘Battersea Bunches’ unfolds at a much more calm pace. Here, The Orb show their trademark dexterity. Minimalist ebbs and flows co-exist alongside towering walls of bass.
The Orb don’t forget their reggae influences, either. In fact, dub pioneer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry comes along for the ride. ‘Golden Clouds’, the updated interpretation of their best-known hit ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’, bookends a stellar career that traversed the cosmos and returned to its point of origin before blasting once more into the big beyond.
While The Orb may look back with this collection, History of the Future shows that many equally intriguing possibilities lie in store.
(Music Editor: Read our Orb live review, originally published in the Dorset Echo.)
Leave a Reply