Bicycles & Tricycles

Album review

For every reason there is to welcome the Orb's return to the electronic arena, there's a reason to feel deflated by Bicycles & Tricycles. It's been three years since the lackluster Cydonia, plenty of time for Alex Patterson and his revolving door of co-producers (most notably Thomas Fehlmann, who has received numerous successes with his solo jaunts) to lick their wounds. However, the long wait did nothing to help the Orb keep up with the tides of progression, and what you're left with feels like remnants of electronica days gone by. Patterson and company still do the genre that they helped to establish justice at times, with "Gee Strings" and "Dilmun" being the two prime examples. However, those two were previously issued on Germany's outstanding Kompakt imprint, and the remixes featured here do nothing to better either song. The beautiful melodies in "Hell's Kitchen" are diminished in effect, thanks to abrasive breakbeats and a totally unnecessary vocal sample. In many ways, it's an album with a paradox: one side being permanently entrenched in the U.K. scene of the early '90s and the other struggling to break free of its past toward a more progressive future (a glimpse of that can be found in the shuffle-heavy remix of "From a Distance"). It's not as captivating a listen as the output from their classic years (although diehards will welcome their return with open arms); and by using that barometer, Bicycles & Tricycles is a bit of a letdown, especially after a three-year absence.
© Rob Theakston /TiVo