Orbital

Chiming, cinematic techno that puts you in the middle of the most disquieting scenes one minute and heaving dancefloors the next, leaving you wondering if it's all a dream. The strung-out "Acid Pants," with its trippy Sparks sample, could make the Chemical Brothers feel a little woozy. A fine farewell LP from true pioneers.

Orbital, true to their name, have floated free from most of electronic music's conventions --
they make strikingly blissful techno that's just tough enough. The group, a duo of brothers
Phil and Paul Hartnoll, has said The Blue Album will be its last record, and it's leaving on a
high note. The centerpiece is "You Lot": It features a theatrical monologue on the dangers
of genetic engineering, which dramatically sets up the track's sweeping, swoopi... More >