Search - Ganymede :: Space and Time

One of the best releases in 2003

D. H. Richards | Silver Spring, MD USA | 10/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As much as I feel the band has come a long way since After the Fall, especially with Neon Rain, I was not prepared for Space and Time. I had heard "Hong Kong" and thought, OK, at least they have another song as good as Neon Rain. I was pleasantly surprised to find that actually, the whole album is that good. Clearly taking some time between this and Euromantique has been to the band's advantage. The songs here are all well written, good songs. The programming and production is first rate. As much as they improved between the first and second CD, the leap here is even greater. There is no reason not to place this next to the Postal Service as one of the best electronic pop albums of the year.
The band has often said they wanted to do synthpop with intellegent lyrics and without the canned beats and blips. I have to say I think they really did it this time. It is not that they finally sound as good as the Pet Shop Boys or Depeche Mode (that's something each person has to decide) - it is that they sound as good, if not actually much better, than the mainstream alt stuff. I mean they stack up against Future Bible Heroes any day, and without the pretension.
The "bonus" disc is worth the price of admission even if the regular album was not so good. Wonderful mixes from Raindancer, Axoe and Lost Gospels recast the songs in pretty cool ways. Actually there isn't a weak mix here. After picking up the rancid Sinead O'Connor "Troy" 2003 remixes I wish more bands would insist on interesting and creative remixes and not just club filler.
In short this album ranks as one of the best of 2003."

The return of the synthpop kings!

C. Price | Norwich, Norfolk United Kingdom | 12/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ganymede are back with 'Space and Time', arguably their best album to date, and it's like they have never been away. The time since the release of the excellent second album 'Euromantique' has been well spent developing their analogue sound further to scale even dizzier heights. The development doesn't stop there though, Patrick gives his strongest and most confident vocal performance to date on this album. I feel too much has been made of Patrick's voice, he's not a rock singer after all. The vocals fit the songs perfectly and have a Neil Tennant edge to them, which is no insult.'Space and Time' is an absolute joy to listen to. You know instantly that this is Ganymede with the tight, catchy melodies and intelligent sound that you have come to expect from this highly talented duo, but this album sounds so fresh and exciting you would think it came from somewhere out there in space and time!There are ten solid tracks on the main album, one of my favourites being the title track - a pacey instrumental that builds in layers like all good instrumentals should. To me it has an almost Mexican feel to it with perhaps a touch of 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'. This leads straight into another favourite, 'Eternal' which resurrects the end-of-the-world feeling from Euromantique's 'Legacy' and 'The Final Year' with great success, a real synthpop anthem.By far my favourite song though is 'The Way I Feel' which is both beautiful and haunting and could go on forever as far as I am concerned! It is a tribute to the skill of Ganymede that they can go from the anthemic 'Eternal' to the sensitive 'The Way I Feel' with barely a second or two between them - it's like another place and time but it still feels like it belongs with the other songs. A great finish to the album.That's not all there is to 'Space and Time' though, and I haven't even got to the bonus disc yet! The album is packed with songs that will crowd the dance floors, most notably 'Missing' with its solid backbeat, and 'Maybe Forever' with the minimalist backing vocals (like with 'Euromantique' though, they are so effective). I said this was a strong vocal performance and nowhere is this more apparent than on the excellent 'Distance'. 'Space and Time' also comes with a bonus second disc with some great remixes from the likes of Fr/action, Raindancer, NukleoN and Axoe, all offering a different and interesting take on tracks from the album. Add to that an arcade style PC game that is great retro fun, a video to 'Daylight' a great synthpop song, and a cover of OMD's Messages and you have fantastic value for money.Ganymede have always, for me, been the most easily-accessible synthpop act on the modern scene. They always have something for everyone, but they have pulled out all the stops on 'Space and Time' and I feel that this can only serve to gain them more fans. Buy the best release of 2003 now, you won't regret it."