Various Artists Four The Truth

How time flies. It seems like only last month the first of the excellent “truth” series was being reviewed, and here we are with number 4. For those of you unfamiliar with the albums, they offer a collaborative platform for artists to produce material based loosely around the X Files series. Often collaborative works produce a spark and freshness which captures the imagination, and this is perhaps why the series has been so successful up to now. ‘Alien Bug Hunt’ chugs along in great style on a pulsating electronic beat. Piano detail fleshes out the sound, silken pads and strong melodics are often called into play aided by a constant stream of samples to form the plot. And some do have you on the edge of your seat, or jumping out of your skin to be precise! The memorably titled ‘Synapsys Struggle of Lifes Recordings’ offers an ultra dense collage of synth layers backed by subtle sequencing and ever present subliminal voice samples. ‘Who Is It?’ is a surprisingly contemporary outing with steady drum beat, guitar refrains and synth backing. ‘Acknowledged Contact’ is a wonderful spaced out drifter which is deceivingly complex yet still imparts a relaxing air. ‘Gross Misconduct’ is a Rob Boots & Ian Boddy collaboration and offsets weird samples with some wonderful effects and an ever present resonating beat. ‘The Relativity of Reality’ features a dancey beat, formula Einstein samples and synth effects while ‘Bare Score’ shuffles along on an organic analog sounding sequence and is a bit “basic” for want of a better phrase. Finally ‘Straight Ahead’ delivers some appealing electronic rhythms and a suitably ominous theme. This is not the most immediate of albums to listen to, and though some pieces do appeal on first hearing it takes a few plays to raise appreciation levels. After 4 episodes perhaps the plot is thinning and needs a fresh angle, though X files fans will I’m sure be happy to keep the collection going with this. (GG)

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