As I recall, William Orbit had his 15 minutes of fame in the late 1990s when his version of Barber’s Adagio For Strings was a chart hit, but he hadn’t impinged on my consciousness before, nor has he since.
Yet on the shelves, I find a copy of Strange Cargo, his release from ten years earlier. Charity shop for a quid, almost certainly, although I’ve no recollection.
It’s a series of short electronic pieces, all eminently listenable, most eminently forgettable. Fire And Mercy rocks off early, while Silent Signals sets a more relaxed ambient tone. But as the album proceeds, the pieces become less notable, and more annoying. To me, it feels it’s finding a gap between background music, and listening music – there’s not enough of interest to make me want to listen, but parts of it are too intrusive to ignore. Too often it’s like soundtrack music that gets in the way.
2* - it doesn’t stink, but others have done ambient / background much better. Not for me.
Comments