After listening to the first three tracks on the new record, it feels as though Hartnoll may have decided to hark back to a time that not only conjures up images of leotard-wearing men playing pan pipes, but also someone that's thrown all caution to the wind and opted for the early '80s Casio keyboard presets.
Yes, it's really bad.
It's 106 miles to Chicago.
We got a full tank of gas,
half a pack of cigarettes.
It's dark and we are wearing sunglasses
Fair play to give a bad review but he should really get his facts right - he slates The Unsteady Waltz (my least fav too BTW) for not being a waltz, where he really should know that it is as it's in 3/4 time...
The guy who posted that review is a twat, but moving on...
Although I think the album can be a wee bit hit and miss ie I didn't like the vocal tracks that much apart from "For Silence" which is the highlight of the album I think, and if any TV producers out there are reading, would be ideal for a TV Series like House or Grey's anatomy or something.
The other highlights are the first track, and Dust Motes which are both excellent, but the album is worth buying for "for silence" alone.
Personally, I like this kind of modern pseudo classical music - I'm a big fan of Craig Armstrong's work as well, and though Armstrong's work is probably a bit stronger overall in terms of maturity (ie he's been doing the classical thing for longer) Paul's album here is an excellent first bash. I agree the album is a bit short, but I think that is a symptom of the CD age. Years ago when albums came out on vinyl they were all about this kind of length.
Anyway - the album gets an overall thumbs up from me.
The strong tracks are very strong, and def compensate for the weaker numbers on the disc...
"For Silence" is the schizzle. Absolutely the highlight. Both my partner & I love it and I generally have pretty diverse tastes to hers. I'm fairly positive it's cut short (as per a few of the tracks) which I hope means they get as extended versions. If artists release an album early doors then try for single sales, which are identical to the album versions, then why would anybody bother to buy them?