Rainbow Serpent Pulse (Download CDR) 7 tracks / 78.24 mins Play Sample:   56K Dialup   Broadband Download Sample:   500K   1.5Mb (Excerpt from track(s) 'Part 5')

Rainbow Serpent have been rather prolific of late but have still managed to keep up the quality. In fact if anything they go from strength to strength developing their style which takes Berlin School influences (particularly Klaus Schulze) making full use of modern production techniques but at the same time infusing them with a most definite 'feel' all of their own.

Ominous cosmic atmospherics chatter from the speakers as 'Pulse Trancemission' sets the scene for the journey to come. Appropriately a pulse beats out over ethereal pads. At seven minutes a strong sequence attracts the attention and develops brilliantly. A stunning Schulze type lead line vies for top billing and it becomes obvious that yet again Rainbow Serpent are not going to disappoint. The sound of the lead changes as we delve deeper into the track often disappearing altogether to let the sequence and underpinning melodic pads weave their spell. 'Part 1' follows smoothly on (this is effectively one continuous track) with a complex high register sequence taking over as the backbone of the track. More Shulzian leads are used to great effect. The four minute mark brings some great drum flourishes which come and go rather than providing a constant groove. It reminded me of 'Mirage',' Moondawn' and 'Body Love' all rolled into one but condensed down to just thirteen minutes, quite an achievement.

The pace quickens just after half way through as we hurtle towards 'Part 2'. A 'splashing' sequence maintains the quality from before and a rhythm falls into line beside it getting the foot tapping and the head nodding but at the same time the mood is on the melancholy side due to the very effective use of synth washes in the background. 'Part 3' has more strange atmospherics but almost immediately a nice beefy sequence fires up, a snare drum giving urgency. The sequence becomes even more thunderous and is complemented by another which is just as devastating. Wonderful stuff- crank up the volume and feel the house shake! 'Part 4' is a gentle bridging section giving us chance to get our breath back before 'Alien Nature'. Some strange vocoded effects are used which I assume are supposed to be in an alien language. This is OK but its repeated use does get a bit grating by the end. A stuttering rhythm is used well but even better is the swirling sequence, which comes in about a third of the way through the track. Though I would have liked it to have been a little higher in the mix.