COOKING VINYL
Wyndham Wallace
Little by The Orb is concise, but the ambient techno of 2015’s Moonbuilding 2703 AD and 2016’s COW, welcomed as a return to their strengths, was certainly less meandering than normal. Talk of a rebirth, however, was wishful thinking. Luckily, No Sounds…, which combines idiosyncratic, stoned grooves with the pop mindset that brought early success, provides greater justification for such sentiments. Other Blue Worlds harks back to 1992’s Blue Room, and Little Fluffy Clouds is recalled in the echoing voices of Wish I Had A Pretty Dog. Similarly enjoyable are the downbeat, Air-like Doughnuts Forever, Rush Hill Road’s celebratory reggae – as poppy, thanks to Hollie Cook’s guest vocals, as anything they’ve ever done – and Wolfbane, which merges airhorns, anti-war sentiments, and Youth’s double bass. Easy On The Onions, meanwhile, is even tastier, with Jah Wobble’s hypnotic bassline slowly dissolving into a pool of Roger Eno’s reflective pianos. Don’t fear the reefer.