Disco de The Orb: “Cydonia”

I've been an Orb fan for the last seven years, and I've spent half of them waiting for this album. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the Orb for the first time. I have always been keen on the way Paterson and co. would create their tracks as auditory explorations, which they undertook at a leisurely pace. When I play Orbus Terrarum, I become immersed in a world of sound that unfolds at its own pace and creates its own rules. I've always loved the way the Orb densely layers its sound like a sonic sandwich.

Cydonia lacks the spirit of previous Orb efforts, in my opinion. The songs are too short, and instead of creating a musical terrain to explore, they present a single idea and play with it for a little while before moving on. In addition, I don't feel like the sounds themselves are as dense or complex as previous efforts. The songs aren't bad, per se, and there are no real stinkers, so you may think my rating is overly harsh. However, Cydonia lacks the qualities that made me a fan of the Orb in the first place without replacing them with something new.

I should also mention that this is the first Orb album that lacks anything resembling a theme (as far as I can tell, I could be wrong). Like I said, each Orb album sort of creates its own world of sound, but Cydonia sounds like a retread of the sounds of Orblivion. I haven't given up on the Orb, but if I have to wait another three years or so, it won't be with baited breath.

I'm so happy to see so many people who didn't get exactly what they expected. The Orb blew electronic music so wide-open in the early 1990s, I can almost guarantee that your favorite "techno" or "drum 'n bass" group/DJ/"band"/whatever has a copy of "Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld" in their collection. Alex Patterson keeps us guessing again. I didn't like much on the first listen, but it is ORB, no doubt. OH WAIT! The Orb did do something new...they used LIVE VOCALISTS. They used real singers, not just DJ-geeks with microphones and vocoders. All of you who are whining about "Cydonia" as a re-hash of what has already been done should open up your ears and your minds a little bit. LX and co. deliver another gem.

The problem with this record is not that there's anything wrong with it but that it's derivative. Patterson seems to be filling in the gaps of territory that he's already mapped. Now, it's still impressive territory, but there's just nothing here that wasn't done earlier, and more spectacularly. And in the end there's nothing to hold onto in the same way as earlier records had. So if you've been to Orb land and loved it you'll like this record. If you're less familiar with the band, this isn't the place to start. And if you like Orb and respect them and already have Orblivion and Ultraworld (as I do, for instance) then this is probably an unnecessary release that will sound just fine the first two times you play it and then it will disappear into your record collection, never to be remembered again.

The new Orb album is finally here, and more than worth the wait. Just popped it out of the box, listening to the end track, 'Terminus',and i'm turning to jelly...The entire album is amazing. I'm assuming if you're already in Orbit then you already have this album or it's on its way...If you're not a fan, or have only heard just a little Orb, get this album... You won't be dissapointed...Tracks like 'Turn It Down', 'Mile Long Lump of Lard', and 'Thursday's Keeper' hit just the right levels of enjoyment...Hell, the whole of the album hit's that mark, you know which 'mark' i mean.... Get it as soon as you can, plug in the headphones, relax on a pillow and close your eyes... Time for a trip to Mars for the cost of a cd.

First off, I must let you know, dear reader, that the four years that passed between the Orb's last album and this album were not spent idly and without lots of other releases ... they're just not "albums" and after all to be taken seriously one must be judged by "albums" .

If you want your Orb to be stagnate, unchanging, and eventually boring and dated, this isn't the album for you. Stick with "2001: A Space Orbessey" which has plenty of those 15-minute-plus tracks you love so much. Or keep up with the DJ sets performed online, grab those and stick with those. If you'd gotten your way, the Orb would have been a joke by now.

If you like your Orb to change, just like you've changed as a person in the last 13 years, then this CD should keep you happy. As an entirely different direction for the Orb from previous albums, it's not an easy first listen, and there's no reason why it should be (Alex doesn't make music for you-individually-per-se). Put it on, relax, listen to it, and hit repeat on the remote when you get to the end so you can listen to it again. And *learn* it inside and out before you make up your mind whether you like it. And appreciate that each Orb release is different from the last one. Pretty soon you'll be clamoring for the next one, wondering what new direction *it's* going to take.