Orblivion (2CD Set)

The Orb are the rave scene's resident gods of ambient psychedelia. ORBLIVION's beats don't so much swing with techno's hyperkinetic verve as they imply that swing through their extreme, dubbed-out feel. At times a spaced-out bassline serves as more of a grounding factor than the dissolved backbeat. Yet that lack of a solid bottom gives Dr. Alex Patterson and his cohorts the flexibility to morph into whatever fourth world musical creation they choose to become, incorporating everything from funk grooves to Third World woodwind textures on a digital floor that seems more natural than synthetic. meer...

The Orb's fifth full-length album frames all these sonic freedoms within various vocal samples that symbolise either its curtailing (McCarthy-era Congressional hearings, a monologue on the apocalypse from Mike Leigh's NAKED) or its full blossom (a TV commercial-like chorus praising LSD). Augmented by music that is in constant weirdo flux, the members of The Orb are revolutionaries destroying borders and fences (physical, psychological, and musical) while on a downward spiral towards the millenium.

Rolling Stone (4/17/97, p.78)
- 3 Stars (out of 5)
- "...sparse melodies that swim through galactic pulses, sonar blips and assorted computer sounds. Beats drift in and out picking up intensity then dissipating like steam....somewhat akin to playing Nintendo while listening to the Cocteau Twins..."

Spin (5/97, pp.111-112)
- 8 (out of 10)
- "...combines wry apocalyptic signifying with a headful of refracted rhythms. It also takes Alex Paterson back to his dance-music roots....If the Chemical Brothers are the miscengenated spawn of DJ Kool Herc and the Ramones, Paterson owes his debt to Grandmaster Flash and electropop pioneers Perrey-Kingsley..."

Option (5-6/97, p.120)
- "...the Orb's best studio LP since 1992's UFORB, it places it's emphasis on the elements that make the project shine..."

Down Beat (7/97, p.64)
- 4 stars (out of 5)
- "...ORBLIVION focuses on what they do best: the elaborate construction and deconstruction of grooves.... sophisticated and inventive, but also playful."

Jazziz (8/97, p.75)
- "...ORBLIVION is...a seamless 72-minute trip that evolves and transmutes....Dr. Alex Patterson and company are intent on re-arranging your psyche like a John Coltrane solo..."