Search - Perceptual Outer Dimensions :: Euphonia

Good, not great

00pi | Vancouver | 10/13/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've had this disc for about 3 months now, and as much as I keep trying to get into it, it's just not doing it for me. I find that perplexing, because it's got a lot of the elements that I normally like in a good techno act: it has a wide range of sound samples, many of them lifted from various multicultural origins giving the music a sort of exotic flavour; it's not too repetitive; it makes good use of trippy, mystical vocal samples that talk about limitless reaches of space, spirits, and other dimensions; it goes after a fairly complex, psychedelic sound; and although a lot of the sounds are kind of floaty and ambient, it's all grounded in a steady beat that keeps things moving. And it's got a slightly dark, ominous edge to it that keeps it from getting too schmaltzy.So what's wrong with it? While it's a solid effort, it simply invites too much comparison with other, better acts that have mined the same territory to greater effect. Intermix did this stuff way better on their "Future Primitives" disc, with better samples, melodies, and more complex arrangements. Delerium's "Semantic Spaces" and "Karma" CD's do a better job on the dark-ethnic-ambient sound. And for really good psychedelic-ethnic-ambient stuff, Loop Guru and the "Interior Horizons" compilation are just several steps beyond this disc in terms of complexity and interesting arrangements. While P.O.D.'s stuff isn't terrible by any means, it does sound relatively flat and unexceptional by comparison.It's probably worth owning if you really like the above mentioned CD's, but if you're new to the genre, try listening to the other stuff first."