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 BUY +TRACK LIST |
A GUY CALLED GERALD - TO ALL THINGS WHAT THEY NEED (K7) |
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A Guy Called Gerald returns to fine form with another sure-fire stunner! T.A.T.W.T.N. is a rich, flavorful soundscape of layered found sounds, techy, catchy keyboard romps, and mesmerizing, poetic verse that welcomes A Guy Called Gerald back to the fun, trippy days of 1989 and his masterpiece, F/X. Uncommon grooves and sparkling, esoteric designs of noise come crashing beautifully together for 10 tracks of mind-bending, genre-defining, electronic dance music. Acid house sounds mix with tablas and rhythmic percussion to form a wondrous journey like no other disc since the dawn of Devo or the birth of the Prodigy. Continuing his reign as the master of the divine sound of Freestyle, powered by experimentation and mobility, Gerald takes his years of experience working with artists like David Bowie, Bill Laswell, Tricky, and Herbie Hancock to an altogether new height with his latest offering. Track 1, "American Cars" explodes beatlessly with the ambient white noise of crickets, birds, and small creatures of the woods that reintroduces Gerald, and the disc, to a whole new generation of believers. Seductive, broken-beat under-minings fill track 2, "To Love", with a spoken, ethereal work-up. "Millennium Sanhedrin" is post-apocalyptic hip-hop poem given the evil touch of Ursula Rucker's deep, breathy charms. Highlights include "First Try", which bursts with upbeat strings and floaty keys, as it comes alive and dances off the plastic with an unbelievable elastic bass line and a series of perfectly placed drum lines that pound in all the right places and pick you right up out of your seat. Vocalist Finley Quaye makes an appearance on the drum and bass-laden gunshot hit, "Strangest Changes", which expertly displays Gerald's ability to switch styles, change pace, and hit listeners when (and where) they aren't looking. Finally, track 9, "Pump" jacks things up in a full-on Tech House pillow fight that pounds another new slice of life into an already pulsating gem. -- review by Carl Noone, Jr.
Ambient and downtempo dominate this strange and subtley consuming slice of electronica. Floating pieces of electronic notes extend and weave into time-extending pieces of ambient new age. Unfast beats click into place with the ethereal melodies, creating delicious bits of chillout. I am slightly reminded of Aphex Twin and yet this is something else entirely. One standout track is "Millennium Sanhedrin" featuring Ursula Rucker who provides a captivating spoken word performance over the downtempo ambient proceedings that I can only describe as extremely chilled hip hop. "Strangest Changes" which boasts a vocal performance by Finley Quaye is oddly U2ish in a less extravagant, more subdued way. The rest of the music is a blend of soothing sky melody and laid back but highly infectious beats. Smooth.-- review by Kristofer Upjohn
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