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The elusive Rollo Armstrong and co. return for their first record on the new
label.
Faithless are as synonymous with dance music as any superstar DJ you care to
mention. Though mainstream fans may only know them for ‘Insomnia’ and ‘God is a DJ’, Faithless have been churning out strong records for years.
Opening track, ‘Not Going Home’ is a strong statement of intent. A thunderous incessant rhythm dictates the pace
as Rollo sings of dirty thoughts on a dancefloor. This is of course led up to
the inevitable mighty euphoric moment and early on, it’s clear we are in the presence of master craftsman in the art of dance anthems.
Things go rather retro with an odd sampling of 80s synth poppers (think ABC and to a less camp extent, Soft Cell), Blancmange who provide Pacman-like beats on ‘Feel Me’ and some seriously big-hair vocals. It’s certainly an odd choice of guest and almost feels alien compared to other
tracks here. The rhythm is unmistakeably fine but it’s essentially a Blancmange track.
If that was weird, things get even odder on ‘Crazy Bal’heads’ with reggae star Johnny ‘Itch’ Fox. Even Rollo’s in the Rastafarian ways on his rapping. It’s a nice idea and experimentation should be encouraged, but this really doesn’t work. ‘Comin Around’ with the chilled chords of Dougy Mandagi goes somewhat back to basics after
those previous far out stylings and manages to manifest itself as a decent
chillout tune, thanks in no small part to its production.
What you will notice is the tune length here is pretty beefy, most songs
clocking in over seven minutes and some do go on too long. The
bizarrely-titled, ‘Tweak Your Nipple’ is not one of them with a fine euphoric dance line that’s just worth waiting for. ‘Flyin Hi’ could be accused of that too, but I’m giving it the benefit of its artistic doubt – essentially a song about flying with Rollo as your tour guide.
However, Mia Maestro’s appearance on ‘Love is My Condition’ also happens to coincide with a song that’s not really that good that is dragged out about 5:22 too long. It sounds like
it could be good but long before the end you’re probably just waiting for Dido and why not?
If Dido hadn’t made it big on her lonesome, it’s fair to say Faithless may have been even bigger. Every time the siblings
collaborate, wonder just seems to follow and ‘Feelin Good’ is further proof. Delightful vocals eventually grow into a killer breakdown. ‘North Star’ brings Rollo in directly and there’s some beautiful interchanges with Dido’s sweet, probing voice. Finally, ‘Sun to Me’ uses old school dance keys into a stunning ensemble – a really strong end.
Released - 14/5/10
Label - PIAS
6th studio release
- Feelin Good
- Not Going Home
- Tweak Your Nipple
- Feel Me
- Sun to Me
- Comin Around
- North Star
- Love is My Condition
- Crazy Bal’heads
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Well if one thing’s apparent it’s that no-one can do dance like Faithless and they are still unparalleled in the
mainstream. What’s also clear is that some tunes here are seriously ill-advised. Pretty strong
though I’d say and well worth a listen.
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You can’t help but admire Kelis, in some ways she’s like the US’s Björk – never afraid to do something different and with unmistakeable vocal strength.
After quite a gap from music she returns with some of the finest dance
producers at the decks.
Opener, ‘Intro’ is a song in its own right on this 9-track experiment. Produced by Burns, it’s almost like gaining entry into the electrical labyrinth as Kelis wails: “I know it’s wrong, but it draws me in.” I’ve gotta say, it’s not sounding wrong where I’m sitting.
Kelis almost comes over with a manifesto as she sings robotically “we... control... the... dance... floor” as we come into German house musicstars, Boys Noize’s ‘22nd Century’. This is slightly more out there and builds nicely on the start with some
futuristic views and hopes entwined in the lyrics. The tune tells a story and
you’re forever waiting for it to drop and when it does, you’ve got to be a bit disappointed.
‘4th of July’ is apparently homage to gay clubbers with some classic piano dictating the
beat. DJ Ammo wisely decides to drop the tune a lot sooner and it benefits
initially but never really builds itself into a decent tune. The segues
features, by the way, are seamless drops and the 3rd is ‘Home’, from producers, Free School. This has a much better beat and finally we start
to reap some of the earlier potential.
David Guetta knows a thing or two about chart success and his production on ‘Acapella’ is edgy synths, thumping drums and a progressive melody that just explodes into
a bridge that rightly places it as an essential summer tune. ‘Scream’ is his second and this time a progressive classic piano piece breathes
beautiful life alongside Kelis’ husky vocals. She almost goes all ‘Vogue’ (Madonna) on us as Guetta shows off his musical prowess and you are hearing a master at
work.
The Italian duo, the Benassi Bros. lend production duties on both ‘Emancipate’ and ‘Brave’. The former is a fast-paced purring synthesized affair as Kelis keeps up well
with the increasing tempo. I’m not convinced “emancipate” is a good theme and it doesn’t offer anything special, but does get annoying. Their second effort is a stark
improvement and with will.i.am on co-production, manages to make those synths
catchy with some nice song pace.
We finish this trip through ultramodern society with the uptempo ‘Song for the Baby’. It’s an upbeat melody with some excellent heartfelt lyrics from Kelis, which you
can’t help but like as the record finishes strong.
Released - 17/5/10
Label - will.i.am music
5th studio album
Finish strong it did, but don’t be fooled as there are a few mediocre eggs amongst some top-grade ones.
Indifferent is how I feel, it just could have been so much more.
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