Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47028 in Digital Music Album
• Published on: 2001-02-27
• Released on: 2001-02-27
• Running time: 0 seconds

Customer Reviews

Martian northern summer in the afternoon.
I have to admit to being pretty biased. I've been a fan of the Orb for probably 10 years now and have stuck with them through thick (Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, "Blue Room", Orblivion) and thin (Pomme Fritz)... Many web-savvy Orb fans may have heard (or heard of) the various differing advance versions of Cydonia that have been traded about since the album was put in limbo due to situations beyond their control (hmm... I notice they're no longer on longtime label Island Records). I had a copy of Cydonia version 1.0 last summer and am pleased to report that the official release is definitely worth purchasing still. It contains several new tracks not on the earlier versions (although it does leave a few off, too) and the whole thing sounds more produced and finished in general. For those who weren't so fortunate to hear that earlier non-release, the new album retains the thick dubby layered style we've seen Orb develop since '89 but even adds a new dimension with vocalists Aki Omori & Nina Walsh contributing actual (non-sampled, that is) vocals to two tracks each. The vocals work especially well on the stand-out track, "Once More" (featuring Aki) which sounds much stronger here than it did on Sasha & Digweed's mixed double-cd from last year (no disrespect to the dj's intended). Other standouds include the bouncy dub of "Promis" the slightly more subdued but still massive "Ghostdancing" (featuring Nina), the controlled mayhem of "A Mile Long Lump Of Lard", the slightly relaxed groove of "Hamlet of Kings", the off-the-wall vaguely retro "Thursday's Keeper" and the epic album closer "Terminus". Doubting Orb fans, unless you only like their mellower early stuff, should doubt no more. Anyone wanting to check out the Orb for the first time might do better with their best of set, U.F.Off, but should come back to this if they like that one.

Please remember that this record was "NEW" in 1999.
I'm so happy to see so many people who didn't get exactly what they expected. The Orb blew electronic music so wide-open in the early 1990s, I can almost guarantee that your favorite "techno" or "drum 'n bass" group/DJ/"band"/whatever has a copy of "Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld" in their collection. Alex Patterson keeps us guessing again. I didn't like much on the first listen, but it is ORB, no doubt. OH WAIT! The Orb did do something new...they used LIVE VOCALISTS. They used real singers, not just DJ-geeks with microphones and vocoders. All of you who are whining about "Cydonia" as a re-hash of what has already been done should open up your ears and your minds a little bit. LX and co. deliver another gem.

A long wait for disappointment
I've been an Orb fan for the last seven years, and I've spent half of them waiting for this album. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the Orb for the first time. I have always been keen on the way Paterson and co. would create their tracks as auditory explorations, which they undertook at a leisurely pace. When I play Orbus Terrarum, I become immersed in a world of sound that unfolds at its own pace and creates its own rules. I've always loved the way the Orb densely layers its sound like a sonic sandwich.

Cydonia lacks the spirit of previous Orb efforts, in my opinion. The songs are too short, and instead of creating a musical terrain to explore, they present a single idea and play with it for a little while before moving on. In addition, I don't feel like the sounds themselves are as dense or complex as previous efforts. The songs aren't bad, per se, and there are no real stinkers, so you may think my rating is overly harsh. However, Cydonia lacks the qualities that made me a fan of the Orb in the first place without replacing them with something new.

I should also mention that this is the first Orb album that lacks anything resembling a theme (as far as I can tell, I could be wrong). Like I said, each Orb album sort of creates its own world of sound, but Cydonia sounds like a retread of the sounds of Orblivion. I haven't given up on the Orb, but if I have to wait another three years or so, it won't be with baited breath.