Spyra
Etherlands
So listen. This Spyra guy who we've been praising to the hilt for the past few years. After Christ knows how many albums, all of which we've been bowled over by to a greater or lesser extent, he's well overdue for a stinker - an album which at last won't have your wallet cowering in the corner crying "mercy" or your other half shouting "those strangely beguiling pulsations which are emanating from the speakers - can you please switch them off or I'll throw the iron at you". Well, it's bad news I'm afraid. Because 'Etherlands' is anything but a stinker. In fact, not only is it a winner by any standards, by his own standards it's possibly the best thing he's released since 'Future of the Past'. I can't stand it any more!!!!!

Sorry about that, I had to go and shove my head under a cold tap. Now then, where to start? Let's begin with the "safe bets" on the album. Those pieces which make you think "I've got to keep this even if everything else sounds like Bill & Ben after smoking weed". Prod the skip button to number 3 and start to bask in the tremendous 'Monotonous Stereo Part I'. Bass beats as deep as a diamond mine shaft, razor sharp percussive detail, and classic EM pads make this a real eye-opener. Even better, skip to number 6 where the sibling 'Part II' continues the form to produce almost 20 minutes of brilliance. It can't get any better, but it does. Next up is 'Etherlands Part I' and this really could be straight off the 'Future of the Past' album. It builds slowly on a wave of classic Berlin School sequencing. Percussion detail is added and seamless extended pads weave a magical spell. The synth motifs sound very classical and melancholy and sound fantastic when offset against the pulsating energy of the sequencers. 'Part 1' lasts just over 12 minutes, and 'Etherlands Part 2' takes over to just keep it all flowing topped off by massed ranks of noises and effects.

So that's almost three quarters of an hour accounted for. What about the rest? The wonderful 'Mellotron Etude' could be the choicest TD bridging section, while 'Six Miles South of Hastings' contains a wonderful sequenced backbone and embarks on possibly the most accessible and traditionally "EM" cut on the album. The track opens with Pirate Radio samples, a common thread on some of the tracks and to which the album is dedicated.

The more I hear this album the more I'm convinced it's the best Spyra outing yet. Rhythm and sequencing doesn't get much better than this. (GG)

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