Thursday 19 February 2009

Review - Northerner - The Ridings

Northerner - The Ridings

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6 out of 10

Call something 'ambient' and the general impression is one of drifty, insubstantial soundscapes which wouldn't be out of place in the soundtrack to an advertisement for package holidays. The work of Northerner has this tag, yet this, his first album, has far too much happening to be so glibly dismissed. And that, I think, is its problem - there is simply too much going on. The effect is of one trying things out, experimenting. And, as such, it's a bit hit-and-miss.

The hits are tracks such as Fin, with its Stars of the Lid / Twin Peaks mashup, Caroline's acoustic billows and Cull, which seems to be rather a smashed Orb than Labradford and their windy isolationism. The misses are the likes of the overly-busy title track, Cut (which seems to oddly reference the Happy Mondays) and Direction, which grunts to little effect. Northerner looks out onto a wide space, however, and his view is definitely one to watch for the future.

Listen: www.myspace.com/northernermusicuk

Tracklist:
Disc 1:
1. The Ridings
2. Direction
3. Caroline
4. J C de M
5. Cull
6. Lost Logic
7. Fin
8. Titus
9. The Cut
10. Sleep
11. Cull (Reprise)

Disc 2:
1. Cull (Fieldhead Remix)
2. Fin (Bracken Remix)
3. Direction (aus Remix)
4. J C de M (The Declining Winter Remix)
5. Lost Logic (Part Timer Remix)
6. The Cut (Glen Shipley Remix)
7. Sleep (Gareth S Brown Remix)
8. Caroline (Epic45 Remix)
9. The Cut (Portal Remix)
10. The Ridings (Winter North Atlantic Remix)
11. Titus (Yuri Lugovskoy Remix)

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