Archive Album: “Controlling Crowds”

After the monumental release of YOU ALL LOOK THE SAME TO ME, Archive seemed to fizzle out, to my utmost dismay. I loved that Album with a fiery passion. Their next album, NOISE, was just that. And LIGHTS had a glimmer of hope that they would return to their former glory. It was a good album but neither of them was a proper follow up to YALTSTM.

I'm here to tell you that CONTROLLING CROWDS is fantastically awesome and IT is that follow up I've been waiting for for almost 10 years. The first track is a 10 minute monster that starts the way we love Archive to start. The album moves from there, each track, perfectly scored. It's got all the melancholy and beauty that we expect from Darius and Company. There's even some rap that WORKS! OH, how it works. This album is truly, truly spectacular. I have so few words to describe my joy of listening to these guys. Just like "YOU ALL..." this album is a listening experience. Hope you discover it!

Admittedly my history of listening with Archive comes down to Londinium, a truly wonderful cd that I discovered off of Roya's work with Grooverider. When I did have the chance to surf around for Archive's later works typically they weren't as much my cup of tea, still talented production overall but just not my kind of energy. Then this cd came out, completely different story.

I'll try to explain this cd in my own words a little bit - hopefully I won't offend the heck out of people with my genre definitions, I'm from the states so bear with me. They're definitely going back to a more traditional trip hop framework. I think of trip hop as not just having the hip hop beats under it but it has a certain structural attitude - it can hit at the cusps of hip hop, jazz, electronic, or progressive rock even. The other element - epic, tunes loaded down like cinematic sound scoring. Like before Archive is mashing in a lot of Floyd and Stones type influence, the music has the standard Muse type emotional depth and grittiness (which I *love*), but at the same time the underpinnings and subtleties have a lot of hip hop, electronic, and jazz as any of Massive Attack's stuff - just that it very distinctly has an Archive signature. What I think this album delivers better than the earlier ones - more intensity, more vision, more uptempo perhaps than earlier releases, for those who might have used earlier cds to fall asleep to at night this is a much more energized/energizing experience.

My advice - if you both like trip hop and also enjoy rock on the same edge as Muse, Radiohead, Steven Wilson, etc. - you'll get a lot of mileage out of this release.

I've been listening to the music from this cd and it's unbelievable. My first year in college in 2001 I was introduced to Archive by way of "Londinium" and have been enthralled ever since. I found their harder to find earlier albums and even bought the Lights album. Say what you will about that last album, but as for this new one old and new listeners will be amazed. "Bullets" is great, and I just listened to "Clones" and "Dangervisit". Even if you're a little curious...get it!

I'm giving this a 5 star review because I never heard of them until the CyberPunk 2077 trailer (the song bullets), and liked it so much I wanted to pay for it and hear more!

I will keep this short and sweet. The more I listen

to this CD the more I love it. This is one that you

should definitely listen to with headphones on to

get the most out of this "experience".

I say esperience, because we headphones on, you won't

miss any of the mood changing, subtle sounds, and full

advantage of "stereo" that this CD's mix is all about.

I've listened to music since the 60's and I can

honestly say that if I had just one album or CD to pop

in and listen to ...this would be the one. Simply

great.