Search - Orb :: Bicyc & Tricycles

The Orb's Latest Phase (third of three)

Klege Doud | Syracuse, NY United States | 01/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I would say that, on a coarse-grained sort of analysis, there have been three main phases so far for the Orb, this latest album belonging to the third of those phases. The first phase began when the artists essentially invented (culling, of course, from earlier influences) ambient techno as it exists today in all of its annoyingly labeled and demarcated forms. In those olden days for electronic music--i.e., the early nineteen-ninties--repetitive beats were the norm, and the Orb came along and produced multiple, complex and "spaced-out" layers in their songs, creating (believe it or not) atmospheric techno, stuff that could actually be enjoyed outside of the dance-hall and appreciated as works of art in their own right. Then came (my personal favorite of the group's changing style) the more experimental and complicated second phase, beginning with Pomme Fritz and ending with the (arguably) unmatched ambient masterpiece Orbvs Terrarvm. Losing the assistance of the former partner Thrash seemed to have a large effect on the group's commitment to less-beat-oriented-and-more-delicate-sound-dedicated approach, as the following LP Orblivion (the beginning what I call here the third phase) marked a return to oldOrb-style techno while keeping the mastery over complicated layering that was their trademark sound by the second phase, not to mention the amusing sampling that made for transitions between tracks. But by this stage, tracks became much shorter (losing the expected, Orb-esque exploration of a musical idea through fifteen minutes of odd samples and atmospheric synths) and by the time this phase reached Cydonia, Paterson et al. began trying on lyrics for size (not the best lyrical work in the world, but the music on its own more than made up for the lyrical slack; besides, there have been worse electronic acts whose attempts at lyrical work have failed far more miserably than in this album (see, e.g., FSOL's The Isness)). Bicycles and Tricycles is an album that has much of the qualities unique to this latter phase, but it also has the feel that it is only a sort of first draft by the Orb's own set precedent. For one, the album lacks much of the complexity that is standard in almost all of their earlier works, with the exception of their first album. Tracks such as "Gee Strings" move on and on without much of the background randomness that is characteristic of similar pieces as "Asylum" or "Ghostdancing." Also, something about the mixing of the album just doesn't feel like a typical Orb album--the proportion of bass and treble is not right on a few tracks ("Prime Evil" seems this way to me, at least). Moreover, much like Cydonia, this album has less an organized, coherent theme as does the earthy, natural Terrarvm or the spacey, alien U.F.Orb. Instead, B&T has the feel of a collection of very separate, small articles the crew had been toying with for some time but had not developed into their own full form, and this leaves the listener with the sense of having been briefly introduced to some set of random thoughts rather than taken through a whole treatise, as was the usual effect of their previous work. All of that aside, there are certainly tracks that make B&T a worthwhile collection. "The Land of Green Ginger" makes a reappearance (originally on the Back to Mine installment), this time with a slight make-over on the narration and a more island-style ending. "Hell's Kitchen" is very unlike any other Orb piece I am familiar with (with the possible exception of "Promis"), but is nevertheless an enjoyable track. The closing "Dilmuin" bears some similarity to the elegant, minimalist Speith piece "You Don't Fool Me," while the two-part "Orb is" & "Now here" (this latter on the Japanese release only) has a clear political theme, which is unusual for this particular group. All in all this album marks a good ending to the third phase for the Orb, and hopefully indicates a return to the beginning of the cycle (the sooner to the second phase, the better)."

Glad the orb are back with another album.....

M. A.J.Anderton | Barton-on-Humber, England | 07/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After Cydonia, the ORb's last album got panned by the reviewers (quire unfairly) I didn't think they'd be back. But thankfully they are, and with an album quite unlike anything else.
This is a mix between Orblivion and Cydonia, if anything. Alex Paterson and co have ironed out some of their more self indulgent moments to create an album with less huge tracks, and less tiny tracks.
The album starts off quite oddly, with "From a Distance" which is a massively commercial song, and features a guy from TheKLF. It's not bad indeed and would be a good track to release as a single.
The next track "The Land Of Green Ginger" is a terrific ambient dub masterpiece with well placed samples and a good melody. So far, so good.
"Hells Kitchen" is another good track, a sweeping sound matched with faux-sci-fi trumpets. A really interesting attempt, which gets better with every listen.
"Gee Strings" however, is an irritating, overlong track which drags on for 6 minutes before ending terrifcally with a trademark hilarious Orb sample.
"Prime Evil" doesn't improve either. It's a fascinating attempt at goth-dance but really just becomes too freaky. It's more of an album filler than anything. It has character but isn't an easy listen.
"Orb Is" is a real grower. At first it is a disappointment but with repeat listens it is fantastic. Swirly melodies and a great atmospher epropell this track to one of the tracks best moments.
UInfortunately, "Abstractions", "L.U.C.A" and "Tower Twenty Three" are bitterly disappointing, and are meandering electronica, more fillers. They are gentle background music but nothing ground breaking like we are used to by The Orb.
Even though Tower Twenty Three is disappointing, the tracks either side of it are simply brilliant!
"Compania" is a really eerie dub track, quite short but with massive impact, and the end track "Dilmun" is the beacon for the album; the one utterly top class track, worthy of a place on any Orb album.
In summary, buy the album because there are enough tracks on it worthy of a listen. People new to The Orb will find quite a few tracks enjoyable, Orb hardcore fans will probably at first hate it, but it turns into a GOOD record, with great moments after a few listens. Not the orb's greatest album, but free from orb's erratic past. The most consistent album to date, but the one with the least impact."

Get Bicycles & Tricycles (Version 2)!!!

Melancholy | Pico Rivera, Ca. United States | 04/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off I liked (Version 1) cd but there's another version from (The Orb) for this cd and I think this will satisfy both fans of past Orb and fans of the new sometimes diffrent musical approaches from the God fathers of Ambient. Here's the Tracklisting for the new version 2 cd of Bicycles.1.Orb Is (Shoppng Version) totally diffrent than the japan import & many moons better, sweet beat.2.Aftermath (featuring MC Shoom T) yes it's a rap song and there's a 12inch floating about with somemore mixes, this song is ho-hum to me anyway but it has it moments.3.Land of Green Ginger (Remix) the same mix as the Japan Import, sounds like the Orb meets Kraftwerk, good stuff.4.Hell's Kitchen same mix as the Japan Import, I like the melody but the bass and drums need's to be cleaned up, I'm hoping for an Orb remix on this one in the future, to good of a song to waste with 1 cd mix.5.Gee Strings same mix as the Japan Import, very laid-back song that can upset alot of Orb fans beacuse of it's Filler feel.6.Prime Evil good Orb song with the spoken word samples and constant beat changes, like the Orblivion years.7.Abstractions (trance pennine express mix) totally diffrent than the Japan Import and more atmospheric beats that Orbies are looking for, nice mix.8.L.U.C.A. same as the Japan Import mix very Orb meets Witchman, hard break beat stuff, I like it.9.From A Distance (blast master vs.the corpral) this one is a million light years better than the Japan Import, if your lucky enough to get the 12inch single of (Masterblaster) by the Orb and JimiCauty(KLF) on Kompakt records than you know how vicious the beat is and Alex and Co. really smoked the hell out of this version, it needs to be longer though, I feel remixes coming on for this track, Hugh every growing Brain samples are on this mix too,Wow.10.Tower Twenty Three(Spud vs. Kreature mix) pretty much the same as the Japan Import but I swear the bass is more amplified and hard-hitting, if you like (Towers In Dub) then this will blow you away, very Jah Wobble/Bill Laswell bass heavy Bone Jarring dub stuff, also the mix seems alot cleaner to me aswell.11.Kompania(the grooved ware mix) this mix is all paterson & fehlman baby and pure Orb Ambient Other-Worldly Magic, I was hoping for more of this ambient vibe from the guys on this cd, when you hear this track you will know what I mean, very trippy and lovely backside of the moon stuff that the Orb is simply known and loved for,fantastic!12.(Dilmun) same as the Japan Import and it's a wonderful ambient closer.So you see the track order is alot diffrent and mixes are I feel alot more exploresome and quite frankly alot more Orb(No Boundries) if you will.Look on ebay for the advance promos of this cd and the (Aftermath) 12inch single right now, but if you want theoffical release stick to amazon. Hope this help's guys and happy hunting.Love,Life.Orb!!"