Disco de Faithless: “No Roots”

Well what can be said about Faithless? What indeed. They certainly have been around for a looong time now. Dating back to when dance/trance/club music was making huge waves over in the UK scene. But out of all of that, Faithless have grown, lost members and gained new ones. Throughout all of this, the sound of Faithless has remained for the most part constant. Until now. No Roots brings Faithless over the threshold into a new era. Gone now is the signature "trance/dance" stand out song we all expected to hear from their releases (IE, We Come One, God Is A DJ). We have instead, a more music and vocal driven selection. Added is a new frontline vocalist along side Maxi Jazz, who brings a soothing change to the group. There are also some really spectacular music only tracks here which can take you on quite the journey without the use of drugs. I highly recommend this cd even if you are not a true Faithless follower. Go for it, you won't regret it.

in the booklet to "no roots", always-elusive faithless mastermind rollo (whom is known to some as "dido's brother") breaks down the new faithless record in a couple of very important ways.

first, he notes that, as opposed to the other faithless albums, which at times take excursions into sonically experimental territory, "no roots" was recorded entirely in the key of C, and was meant to sound as melodic as possible. not a whole lot of sister bliss's Tidy-esque nob-twiddling should be expected....though at times it's amazing to see the amount of self-restraint one imagines her exhibiting when she does get to start playing around (see the remix of "mass destruction" tacked onto the end of the album for a chance to hear her let loose and have some fun).

the other thing that's important to note is that "no roots" was approached, per rollo, as faithless's last album.

there seems to have always been a huge underworld/faithless debate. underworld gave us the tech-night classics "born slippy" and cowgirl". faithless gave us those modern hard house/trance anthems "insomnia" and "god is a dj".

however, the last missive we heard from the boys in underworld...was really quite boring, and the album actually seemed to support only two real songs.

faithless has ALWAYS kept their song-based structure, even when some of those songs (i.e. most of "outrospective") seemed lacking or stretched ("i'm the left eye/you're the right/would it not be madness to fight/we come one"???? i think we've heard that before...on EVERYTHING). here, on "no roots", it's no different. faithless tackles the threat of world war, and also maxi jazz's favorite topic, love, with a precision and restraint unlike we've yet seen on a faithless record. there's no out of place beat, no track that's on the album purely to be released as a single. everything has its place, and while it may be an easy listen, isn't it about time faithless made one album that didn't have a track with enough sonic high-end to make your dog's teeth itch?

and, in typical faithless fashion, there are a couple of collaborations with dido, which will no doubt get announced on the cover of the album when "no roots" get a US release in an attempt to sell more records, but the fact that that's not the band's choice is respectable.

if this is faithless's last call, we're left with maxi jazz's final words, a tale of street life and hardship echoing and swirling around inside a wash of bass, the same way they'll echo and swirl around inside your head. don't take the music's melodic tone as a sign the lyrics have let up on this album: they haven't. this is still the thinking person's dance act. and you'll have ideas aplenty to chew on for days after.

From the official website:

"genre busting music aimed at the head, heart and feet"

Faithless, led by Rollo Armstrong (brother of songbird of the moment, Dido), has always been an outfit which stood apart from other more generic musical offerings from the mid-to-late 90's.

Like Massive Attack, Underworld, Orbital and Prodigy, Faithless have never considered themselves overly commercial and don't believe in 'selling out' to the usual contrivances and compromises of popular music production. Over the years they've enjoyed a unique position of being able to deliver a much more intelligent and mature kind of dance music, to an ever resilient and supportive fan-base, than has generally been produced by other popular DJ's and labels around the world.

My first experience with Faithless, as I'm sure many would similarly avow, was the incredible foot stomping, beautifully simplistic, ethereal anthem that was 'God is a DJ' [Sunday 8pm], I think I was at the (once) mighty Lakota in Bristol, and of course everybody in te house loved it so much that they played it twice in a row.

You can't listen to Faithless and not have a good time. I think they've had some bad rap lately, and throughout their career, for daring to have a political and moral conscience -- something that entertainers of all varieties are consistently scorned for, as if they have no right behaving and vocalizing as rational human beings who think for themselves.

Whatever. Perhaps their most recent press release tries too hard to sell us the idea that Faithless should be revered for their 'lyrical genius', it also tries and fails to explain a theory of the 'twin-concept album'. Firstly, though some of the lyrics on 'No Roots' are certainly evocative ("Whether Halliburton, Enron or anyone/Greed is a weapon of mass destruction"), or at times very thoughtful ("Your love is on a grand scale/Mine is in the details"), there are others that I definitely wouldn't equate to acts of genius, but rather the confines of a style that relies too heavily on forced rhyming ("My love persists over land and sea/Through centuries/I'll fill you up like rice and peas") -- the jury is still out on that last one. And of course, we all know to roll our eyes and shake our heads in dismay whenever we hear the words 'concept album'.

A review by Guardian unlimited poked fun at both these issues, which, though unfortunate, is really only to be expected.

Although Faithless are obviously trying to convey certain messages that they feel strongly about, what's most important in judging the merits of any music surely has to be the MUSIC itself. Future press releases might do Faithless more justice if they just follow that rule more closely.

And the music of 'No Roots', the latest album -- ranging from chilled out synthesized atmospherics, reggae inspired drum beat mantra's, to their more trademark hard-house anthems -- is an eclectic yet well weaved mix which definitely deserves all the attention it can get.

The opening track after a brief intro, 'Mass Destruction' is a curious blend of the biographical ("My dad came into my room/Holding his hat/I knew he was leavin/ Sat on my bed told me some facts") with lyrics of a more outwardly political nature ("Wether soaraway sun or BBC 1/misinformation is a weapon of mass destruction") -- 'soaraway sun referring to the UK's leading ( and utterly superficial) tabloid newspaper, 'The Sun'. 'Mass destruction' sets the pervading tone -- one of maturity, inner searching, and worldly conscientiousness.

What then transcends is a well balanced, marginally experimental album blurring musical boundaries between house, speed garage, high energy dance anthem, and chilled out drum 'n' bass, occasionally borrowing elements from trip-hop, trance, and a few less predictable sources. If you listen carefully you might recognize traces of legendary synth master Jean Michelle Jarre ('Pastoral') and even Lenny Kravitz ('Swingers').

For me, stand out tracks include the free flowing reggae styles and electronic wizardry of 'Love lives on my street'; the classic speed garage dance vibes of 'Miss U less, see U more'; the excellently channeled guitar loops, melodic chanting, and break beats on 'No Roots' -- also featuring Dido; and the penultimate 'What about love' -- with plenty of reverb and cathedral atmosphere, reminiscent of their earlier, now famous club anthems.

Overall not a perfect album -- but then that's a target which is probably unattainable by anyone. Nonetheless I would definitely recommend this to those with an appreciation or strong interest in progressive dance music. Of course, to really experience Faithless you need to see them perform live, but if this is as close as you ever get, you shouldn't feel too left out, that is, unless you haven't bought their other albums already.

I don't know if these guys can ever top the brilliance of Outrospective. It's just too perfect. I miss Zoe Johnston's chilly voice, but I am liking this album so far. Mass Destruction is solid and No roots is dense and meaty for Faithless devotees. Maxi Jazz is such an immensely talented poet and he and LSK really complement one another well. But why, OH WHY, must this disc be copy controlled????

For those who thinks that Faithless always makes the same thing, "No Roots" is actually not like other Faithless albums, for good and bad. It's a more direct album with more dance vibes but still less Club songs for the hit charts with catchy beats and hooks. The sound of this album uses less synthesizers and more modern house/club music with a flavour of modern soul and funk, new member LSK also adds some reggae to it. Each of the songs also segues into each other, which makes you unaware of when the songs starts and ends. This album didn't really get much attention by the media and few songs made the hit charts, but it's one of their most fascinating albums with deep thoughtful lyrics and as a concept it works all the way. Which may also be the problematic part. Only "Mass Destruction", "I Want More Part 2" and "Miss You Less, See You More" stands out on their own and most of the other songs are just part of the concept without getting much attention by themselves. "No Roots" is much better then the disssapointing mess of "Outrospective" but it takes time to grow on you and it's only for the most committed fans. If You're new to the band, start with "Reverence", if you're an old fan, you may like this one aswell.