I only own one Orbital album on vinyl and it is a signed copy of "Monsters Exist" from 2018. I saw this album being advertised on Pledge Music and for some reason I decided to back it. I'm not a massive Orbital fan as I find their music moves between two extremes. Tracks like "Belfast" and "Funny Break" are immaculate, but I really don't like "The Box" or "Style". I think I must gave just gambled that this record would be more to my taste than their previous efforts and hoped for the best.
Happily I like this album and despite being pressed by GZ Media, these two slabs of vinyl actually sound pretty good. The overall package is nice and even included a download card (which you don't seem to get nowadays).
The title track that opens proceedings is a nice piece which leans more to the electronica side of the band's output rather than the banging dance music side. Another highlight on the fist disc is the brilliant "P.H.U.K." which has a harder edge but is bristling with hooks and ideas. "Hoo Hoo Ha Ha" is so characteristically Orbital it almost makes me long for a bit more innovation rather than using the same ideas from the past.
On the second disc "Buried Deep Within" is another interesting slice of electronica but "Vision OnE" and "The End is Nigh" don't really hold my interest. We end on a massive downer with Professor Brian Cox providing an unvarnished description of the end of the universe and reminding us all of our own mortality. Way to kill the mood Prof. 3/5
