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Haunted Dancehall

The Sabres Of Paradise

1994

Haunted Dancehall
Album Summary

Haunted Dancehall is the second studio album by English electronic music group The Sabres of Paradise. It was released through Warp on 28 November 1994. It peaked at number 57 on the UK Albums Chart.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.41

Votes

12305

Genres

  • Electronica

Reviews

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Feb 17 2021
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1

I was eager to stop listening to this.

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Feb 11 2021
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1

Pointless bullshit noise. These aren't songs. The're pieces of songs desperately trying to pass themselves off as complete songs. Useless and angering. Why the hell is this even on the list?!

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Jul 02 2021
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2

You remember that episode of Friends where Ross made a song by playing all the weird noises on his Casio? This is that, but the noises are a yipping dog and a coffee grinder. Also, it was kind of comical when Ross did it. Best track: Wilmot

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Sep 26 2021
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2

Being given the accolade of "the 47th best album of 1994" really feels about right, for this.

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Apr 05 2021
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3

Going in, I had no idea what to expect from Haunted Dancehall, as I had never heard of Sabres of Paradise, and am not generally interested in techno. To my surprise, Haunted Dancehall isn't bad at all. The Sabres position themselves halfway between ambient and dance music. I can easily imagine this playing in a bar or club or sushi restaurant. It's pleasant sonically and has a laid back, cool vibe, but has enough energy to provide a consuming mood, whether that consumption be food, drugs or alcohol. The first few tracks are quite abstract. The sound sources are varied and quite tasteful. No horrid synth patches here. The sonic manipulation is creative and tasteful as well. The rhythms are mostly fairly simple. The interest comes from how the various elements fit together. On these early tracks, the Sabres sometimes deconstruct the tunes a bit to point out the art in what they're doing. It's a savvy strategy because the parts fit together so naturally, the effort and creativity involved would otherwise go unnoticed. About six tracks in, the tunes get less abstract and more songlike. For me, this is a mistake because it calls too much attention to the functional nature of the music. This kind of music should glide over the smooth brains of the listeners, lulling them into the desired emotional state. Even here though, the same virtues of economy, taste, and studio mastery remain. After a few tracks, the Sabres return to a more abstract style for the rest of the album, which I actually prefer. How do I rate this? It's quite well done, but this is functional music, not really meant for close listening. If I put this on a playlist, it would be as a palate cleanser. Is it wrong of me to refuse to give a higher score because of a perceived lack of artistic ambition? Maybe. It feels like snobbery. Oh well. 3.5/5

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May 26 2021
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1

I expected a lot more out of an album titled Haunted Dancehall. Certainly sounds like the most boring place in the world.

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Feb 17 2021
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1

Garbage. Just shitty electronic music like this is the 70s. No music, just random sounds. Imagine paying for this. 1/10.

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Apr 09 2021
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2

Couldn’t get into it. Maybe it’s because I was wearing trainers.

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May 04 2021
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2

cover looks like it might be rockabilly, but it's from the 90s. hmm. might also be techno cause dancehall etc. haha ok it's dank 90s techno. lol and of COURSE it's from the uk. classic 1001 albums editor shenanigans. i'll give it a chance, but at 1hr 16min there's no way this isn't gonna be WAY TOO FUCKING LONG. it's pretty... minimalist? granted I'm only on about minute 8 of 75, but I think I have a pretty good idea what to expect the rest of the time. And ok yep an hour later, that was pretty lame! This would have been a 3 if it didn't stay out its welcome, because it wasn't THAT bad for the first couple of songs. But the full thing? uuughhh, fuckin hell. 2/5.

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May 06 2021
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2

Tracks don't show much progression in their ~ 6-minute runtime. Best tracks are Wilmot and Tow Truck. 4/10, not bad but I'm always waiting for something to happen that never does

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Jan 12 2022
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1

I think this aged poorly. Sounds like robots banging on garbage.

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Nov 25 2021
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5

I know nothing about this album. That's always dead exciting. The songs look long which is a worry. Bubble and Slide sounds nice. Slightly afrobeaty. Bubble and Slide 2 has some lovely filters over its beat. Glitchy. I love it. Duke of Earlsfield goes dubbier. And a bit crazy towards the end, another great track. Flight Path Estate is more slight, but is also shorter in line with it's relative lack of ideas. It's immediately followed by Portishead's mix of Planet D which is straight back up there again. Gloomy and dark while also feeling quite chilled. Wilmot has a baseline that makes me want it to go full junglist lunacy... It doesn't, but I still love it. It sounds like music from the weirdest arcade machine on the planet. Tow Truck is actually pretty sexy - like spy film music. Theme follows in a similar style, before another short noise experiment called Theme 4. In short, I am coming back to this, and I an gutted it's never had a vinyl repress - C'mon Warp Records, please do it!

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Sep 08 2023
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2

First song sounded like really broken plumbing

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Feb 25 2021
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4

Funky. Good background music. I'm bobbing my head along to it as I work.

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Dec 15 2022
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4

Finally some good electronic music! I do not understand the hate this album got. It is fresh

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Jan 18 2024
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2

I listened to it at work and didn't know when it ended.

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Jan 24 2024
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2

2.4 - As I listen to this, I picture a caffeine-addled Robert Dimery pacing frantically around his office at 4 am, just hours before a deadline to turn in a book draft to his publisher. CDs and LPs are strewn haphazardly around the room. In his panic, he slips on some liner notes and falls on his face. When he finally comes to, he opens his eyes and sees the cover to this album staring back at him. "Oh, here's one I can add! This one's obscure enough that it'll fly under everyone's radar! OK, only 389 more albums to go!"

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Dec 07 2023
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1

The dancehall is haunted by the ghosts of those who died of boredom listening to this.

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Jun 24 2024
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5

Surprisingly great! Don't get why this record gets so much hate - it's inventive, has some good tunes here and there and it manages to keep your attention, though it's over an hour long. 9/10, but 5/5

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Apr 16 2024
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5

Oh this is so awesome and right up my alley. I'd never heard of these guys before so what a treat. Bubble and Silde starts off on the right foot but Bubble and Slide II take the cake for me. Duke of Earlsfield is a jam with Planet D, Wilmot, and Theme amping up again. There's just so much to like, for me, on this album.

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Jul 29 2022
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4

This record is a mood. I like it and I will listen again. Wilmot is my favorite track.

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Jul 22 2022
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4

As soon as I saw this was on Warp Records, I knew to expect something off-beat and interesting. Put this on in my earbuds while running errands. Great instrumental background music. Very interested in hearing more of their work.

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Apr 29 2022
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4

Really interesting sonically. Can tell that this album had an influence on the urban/hardccore music to come from the UK in the years to follow.

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Feb 10 2023
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4

Though I prefer Andrew Weatherall's other project, Two Lone Swordsmen, slightly more, I do appreciate this. Has lots of interesting layered pitch shifting and dubby reverb and delay all over it, giving it a high contrast blend of treble and bass. Very textured atmosphere, but it definitely has a harshness to it, so I can see why some people find it unpalatable. I gravitate towards the more downtempo numbers like "Duke of Earlsfield" and the one remixed by Portishead. If I heard this high AF at a 90's rave it might've broken my brain.

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May 28 2021
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4

On of the best electronic albums I've heard

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Jan 12 2023
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4

Really good stuff. Had never heard of it before.

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Jan 20 2023
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4

Weird and haunted - in a good way. Unique beats.

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Feb 19 2021
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4

It's of a time. I bet it sounded rad in 1994

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May 06 2021
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3

enjoyed it more the more i listened. interesting.

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Jun 01 2023
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3

I quite enjoyed it but there are so many more albums that deserve a place on the list rather than this

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Jan 09 2023
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3

some good tracks but this is not anyone's favourite album

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Mar 03 2021
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3

This is why I don't like skipping albums! When listening to 'Bubble and Slide' as the first track I almost wrote this album off as a psychedelic bore. That couldn't be further from the truth. I could imagine that certain substances may enhance the experience of this album but it was enjoyable whilst working away regardless. I found myself head bobbing away slowly when listening to tracks like 'Planet D' and 'Tow Truck' put me in the mindset of James Bond as a lead character in Snatch. This whole album was a chilled out trip that I would never have had the pleasure of riding usually. 3/5 because of the lack of wow factor but this was a lovely listen.

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Aug 25 2024
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2

A wide range of ringtones trying to pass off as "songs".

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Oct 14 2024
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2

IDM even in 1994 already had some quite interesting and important releases and even the idea of mixing Ambient soundscapes and ideas with it wasn't new as one could hear on the Aphex Twin debut. To be fair, this album was going a much more classic Ambient approach than Aphex Twin and deserves at least that credit for what it brought after. But that still does not mean that the album is good. There are certain elements that are done very well and even interesting but most that the album offers fails the most fundamental thing that Ambient tries. It does not create a relaxed ambience that can work as background music but also as a beautiful soundscape if you listen closer. Instead, the album is just annoying and in some cases gets progressively worse with how demanding it is and I don't use demanding as a compliment here. 'Bubble and Slide' opens the album in not the most pleasent way with something that sounds like a clogged toilet turned into a Techno beat. It sounds abhorrent and disgusting as if a Goregrind Metal vocalist decided to put his voice through the worst computer synthesizer that one could find and play around with it. The additional synths (those that bring in the Ambient) as well as the Industrial aspects don't really improve it much and the song ends sounding as terrible as the start. And as if wasn't enough, 'Bubble and Slide II' comes in as the second part of that same song but luckily, the toilet sounds are gone and replaced with overly repetitive drum machine sounds that sometimes get broken up by some synths before it repeats again. Repeating the same thing is very often what makes Ambient interesting but it is also very easy to f*ck up as they did here. If it was a less obnoxious drum machine and more of the Ambient synths, it would've been okay but the result as they did it here is too much, too loud and just annoying. After around 3 minutes, it does get better and does exactly what I just said but still not enough to be good because after a while it goes right back to what it did in the beginning. That middle part is the only listenable and not bad one but it isn't good either and the song as an entire entity is overall just bad. The following 'Duke of Earlsfield' is even longer at nearly 9 minutes of playtime and is actually the longest track on the record. I do think that both the drum machine as well as the other synths and production choices are much better here and actually create something that is a nice mix of IDM and Ambient even though I wished there was more of the latter because the way it is here, is just a little bit questionable as you can clearly hear their ambition but very much wonder why they didn't go into that more. But apart from that, the song is actually quite okay, if not good. The mix of bell synths and the darker and more distorted Ambient synths later on feel like they are implemented in a good way, only the the part at the 6 minute mark holds it back a little bit. Overall, this is a pretty good IDM track. The darker and more distorted tones are amplified a lot on 'Flight Path Estate' which is present from the very first second. And while I liked it the firt few repetitions, the longer it played the more annoying it got. Until the additional synths come in, it's just hard to listen to and once something else appears, it feels like it doesn't really fit. These Ambient synths on their own would've been lovely and actually sound like something you'd hear in Minecraft but these loud soundscapes are just unbearable. One part of it I love, the other I hate but the second plays for much longer, so it's a not a good song. The track 'Planet D' was mixed and produced by Portishead and although I really like some of what Portishead did back then, this is certainly not one of them. The drums and the Ambient synths are really well made but for some reason they decided to put an unfitting sound as a "hook" into an otherwise okay IDM & Trip Hop track. The song isn't bad by any means but a couple of their production choices do feel rather weird. But it still is a listenable and okay song that just doesn't do very much at all which does help the Ambient aspect of it but not really the Electronic or Trip Hop side. The lead single 'Wilmot' comes around with some very interesting choices that range from tropic sounding guitar to cow bells to weird soundscapes and some very obnoxious vocal samples. But, that was just the intro (which isn't good by the way). The actual song mainly builds around a very present bass and adds a lot of different elements, some of which we heard in that weird intro. I feel like nothing here fits together, it's all thrown into one pot and stirred a little bit too much. There are definitely Ambient IDM ideas here but there is too much change here and there that it doesn't really end up being good at either one of them. Ambient lives off of well repeating beautiful sounds that put you into a trance and IDM lives of a certain repetition that is worked around with some artistic ideas and aspects but here it's just too much. I cannot fully enjoy the song because the moments when I do think that it's about to actually work, the next weird detail is added while another one goes astray. The entire time, I am just confused and annoyed by everything the song does and it ends up being very unpleasent. I have no idea why they thought repeating a loud alarm siren at the start of 'Tow Truck' was good idea. Nearly the entire first minute is ruined by it but luckily, it does go upwards from there. The dark and Western sounding guitar is really well worked into the song and I think that it if the drums were a little bit less obnoxious and the siren wasn't put in there again, it would've been a good song but overall I am just too annoyed by those "details" that I can't really put much love towards the parts that I do enjoy. It's an okay track, still The albums second half is started with the 'Theme' that goes into a epic sound that builds up and nearly feels like from a spy movie. It has energetic and epic guitars and the whole thing is just EPIC... Well, it would've been if they didn't decide to add way too loudly mixed drums and bass above it that make all the good stuff feel like background music. I do think that these epic parts are really great but the rhythm section they plastered on top destroys it all and tuns a great song very, very average. Which is sad because it could've been one of the albums best tracks. Of course after a first theme you need a second one, or better a fourth one because 'Theme 4' for some reason appears as a very short, nearly interlude like track that has some Ambient elements going for it but they are mixed so incredible loud that instead of being atmospheric, the are unbearable to human ears. I bet that a bat or a dog might find this more pleasent but I definitely do not. If they had just mixed the atmosphere quieter it would've been okay but this is really bad. 'Return to Planet D' does a similar thing where it tries to do the Ambient IDM mix but mess up with the mixing and make parts way too loud that should not have been made this loud. Some synths are also pretty terrible, giving me flashbacks to the toilet sounds at the start of record and while I think that a slightly different production and better mixing would've saved it, the way it got onto the album is just terrible. The album really doesn't get better when 'Ballad of Nicky McGuire' again features synths that sound like a clogged toilet. It isn't as terrible as the opening track and some production elements do actually work, the main rhythms are just unlistenable. And if a terrible sound isn't enough, it is streched to over 8 minutes of repeating terrible synths and annoying sounds. Just the sheer length with the production is enough to qualify this for a terrible song. It does get better later on but the first half is unlistenable while the second is just not good with a lot of very high pitched, nearly stinging synths and the clogged toilet sounds. On the other hand, some synths are quite good and actually have a well sounding Ambient tone to it but they go under between all the badly produced and mixed ideas. 'Jacob Street 7am' goes into a Space Ambient direction and tunes the IDM a little bit down. It does create a nocturnal and dark sound but some production ideas just don't work especially the distorted synth and "drum" parts. If it was stripped down and more bare bones, it would've been passable but like this it's just not really good. It has an ambition and you can hear that ambition but they fail at actually making it happen. It ends up sounding really annoying and ruined. They ruined a good song into something really bad. With a similar title, 'Chapel Street Market 9am' comes next and extends the spacey sounds into an even longer track and also adds even more annoying and misplaced addtions that ruin a completely fine Ambient track. Even the drums are better mixed and if they were a little slower, would've actually made a good song but the synth that I suppose was intended to sound like some mechanical sounds from a spacecraft or something, ruins the well made Ambient synth that plays more in the background. It is more pleasent to listen to that its predecessor but that still does not make it close to being good. In fact, they streched it another three minutes with some synths that are definitely too loud and ruined the okay first half into something that causes physical discomfort. Something that Ambient should never do. NEVER. Still, they made them so obnoxiously loud that I feel like my eardrums have taken permanent damage from listening at medium volume. The album closes with the title track 'Haunted Dancehall' which has some more high-pitched and too loudly mixed synths but also some dark and distorted ones that are mixed even louder and make the entire song sound even worse. It does not work at all and sounds absolutely abhorrent. Abysmal, terrible, unlistenable, torturing. Whatever you wanna call it, it probably fits here. favourites: Duke of Earlsfield least favourites: Haunted Dancehall, Bubble and Slide, Return to Planet D, Wilmot, Ballad of Nicky McGuire, Chapel Street Market 9am Rating: light to decent 3 (if it wasn't for Duke of Earlsfield, it would've been a 2) https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

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Oct 14 2024
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2

Ein Remix ist gut. Der Rest nicht.

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Nov 09 2024
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1

I’m sorry, but this is probably the dumbest band name I’ve ever heard. …and once again, I ask, “Why is Stereolab’s “Dots and Loops not on this list?”

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Feb 02 2024
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1

You can really count on Robert Dimery, an English writer and editor who had previously worked for magazines such as Time Out and Vogue, to churn out some forgettable English Electronica on his list. Jokes aside, I came close to getting locked in on some of the weird stuff going on in the arrangements, but it was so bland and repetitive I couldn’t do it. I guess if I had grown up on this kind of stuff or had heard it contextualize at the time, I would be singing a different tune, but as it stands right now I can’t be bothered to push myself into forcing appreciation for this. Top track: Bubble And Slide II

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Feb 22 2024
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1

There was a "game" for the ps1 called music 2000 where you could layer up a bunch of prerecorded samples and make "original" songs, and all of the songs you made sounded like this album. In isolation there are a few bits here and there that sound like the precursor to interesting music but it's repeated so much and put together in such a lifeless way that I lost interest after 30 seconds. And then it would go on for 7 minutes. I think there is a decent 4 minute album in this but as a whole it was dire and I can't imagine why it was included. Maybe the "electronic" music critic only had about 4 albums he actually wanted to include and after he ran out of orbital and portishead he has to scrape the bottom of the barrel for this nonsense.

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Sep 18 2022
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1

I wasn’t really expecting this. This is the kind of music I would expect to hear in Spongebob during his rave with the jellyfish. The first 2 songs sound like electric zoo. They are kind of funny to me, but uninteresting. I also do not like songs without lyrics, so none of these songs really stood a chance anyways. I probably wouldn’t even put any of these songs on as background music, except maybe Wilmot.

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Jun 20 2021
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5

Comes ar you like a ray, like a beam. Loved it.

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Oct 21 2024
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5

A strong fun electronic album. Enjoyed it end to end .

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Apr 01 2022
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5

Best Sabras of Paradise album? Probably, starts off with the classic sounds of Bubble and Slide and contains The Balled of Nicky McGuire, one of the best electronic songs of the 90s.

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Mar 20 2023
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5

странный альбом но допустим....

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Mar 08 2023
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5

Musiikkia korvilleni. Säännöksi voisi sanoa että chilling and wibing albumit aina ansaitsemassa yhtä tähteä. Nytten ei ansaitse heh. rento tunnelma ei johtunut laiskuudesta. Heh. Mukavan moody, mutta ei satunnainen, tässä on tarkasti määritelty mielintila. Hyvin experimental kun ottaa huomioon vuoden 1994. Stands the test of time. Kuitenkin heh.. Aphex twin dropannu 1992 senkertaparempaapaskaa heh. Onko tämä upgrade heh.. Jos oltais poimittu parhaat.. vois tämä esittää olevansa. Tokavikassa kappaleessa Chapel Street Market 9 Am lirahtaa vähän ruskiaa housuikkoon. (Objektive shit).. heh… PASKALTA KUULLOSTAA, KORVAAN TYLSÄHKÖ.Intensia jää jonnekkin.. filleriä..kö… Niin sitä luulee.. Heh.. VEDETTY KUIN KOIRAA NARUSTA.. kuuntelijaa… Vika biisi.. albumin nimikkobiisi…heh.. viimeisenä tulee.. päräyttää paikat paskaksi.. Meaning… Beuty. Buety of Sound.. Meaning.. in sound.. sound, ,, sound no text… No lyyrik.. Finding something is true.. after.. after your awakening… After beuty.. cannot discripe.. discribe the feeling.. Another world opens.. maybe full of problems… but when door open.. you dont see problems, they are hiding.. you only see light… Light shines.. glimmers and shines,, deep understanding, reflections of light.. trigonometry… light goes.. and goes…. you dont.. You dont go… you watch the glimmering… The newness should scare,, but no.. it cares… scare is not present, its away.. instead,,, love… happiness,,,, finding,, the… the,,, the,,, Light dims, door closed position.

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Aug 27 2024
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5

I love the spooky, dark vibe throughout this album. It really feels conceptual in spite of being entirely instrumental. One of those albums you can just get lost in. I'm always happy to see more electronic inclusion here as well.

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Jul 22 2024
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5

Thoroughly enjoyed this even though the first track sounded like some guy taking a shit

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Jun 24 2024
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5

Maybe it’s the ADHD/transfemme brainworms, but this is exactly the kind of all-inclusive, anything goes, subtextual, just plain old weird yet chaotic experience teetering between a rave and a sensory deprivation tank that soothes my mind and speaks to my soul.

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Feb 05 2021
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5

Completely unfamiliar with this one. I like it a lot. An innovative techno LP from 1994. Standout tracks: "Duke Of Earsfield", "Wilmot", "Tow Truck", "Theme", "Ballad Of Nicky McGuire"

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Jan 05 2024
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5

This was interesting to listen to right after Fela Kuti because they’re not dissimilar. This almost felt like an evolution of afrobeat, although this band isn’t from Africa AFAIK. I loved this and it was perfect for my purposes today: travelling long distance by car. Like yesterday’s album, I wish the songs were shorter because I’d definitely listen to them frequently if they were…but I do want to keep this one my phone regardless, so it gets a 5 from me.

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Oct 08 2023
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4

8/10 I love me some weird ol’ experimental electronic music it’s no Aphex Twin, but it’s still pretty tight

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Sep 29 2023
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4

I have never heard of The Sabres of Paradise or any of the music on Haunted Dancehall. I don't know how to categorize this music, but I can work with it. I enjoyed listening to this album. The general aesthetic of the tracks on this album feels like the tracks belong together and they make up a recognizable whole. I wasn't wondering why the band didn't stop sooner, becasue there was enough diversity between the tracks. Haunted Dancehall is electronic music, but not generically so. I was reminded of a variety of other artists during this listen, but combined in small amounts here and there. One of my favorite tracks was "Wilmot" which for a few moments reminded me of old jazz in the style of Cab Calloway, and then shifted into a middle eastern vibe and back out again. ("Return to Planet D" was my next highest rated track.) "Ballad of Nicky McGuire" reminded me of The Beastie Boys' The In Sound from Way Out!. The title track sounded like it could be part of the soundtrack to Stranger Things. I would come back for a second listen.

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Oct 12 2023
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4

It's bland and most of the time pointless BUT it's musically absorbing, at least for me. It's much more interesting than a lot of other electronic albums that I've heard. In short, it's more interesting than enjoyable. I liked it, though.

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Sep 15 2023
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4

Great album to listen to when working. Lots of nice grooves and sounds. Goes on a bit long, I think cutting a few tracks would help made the experience a bit better

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Mar 21 2021
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4

Слушать можно, не раздражает

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Aug 25 2023
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4

Pretty long, but pretty cool for an electronic album. I am beginning to realize I like a lot of the 90s electronic music.

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Apr 19 2021
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4

Me gustó pero no es para todos los públicos

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Aug 12 2023
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4

This is apparent a foundational techno album and is somewhat of a concept album as well. I found the first few songs a bit rudimentary, but as the album developed, the songs became more complex and textured. I really started getting into the groove of the album about 1/3 of the way through. I will say that it was a bit too long, but I think I would like to return to this again.

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Aug 11 2023
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4

I haven't given this one a spin in a long time. Creaking with old age at this point, but 4*s for what it meant to me back in the day. Andy Weatherall shaped a lot of my musical taste over the years - RIP

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Jun 28 2023
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4

Going in totally blind I was delighted with Bubble and Slide but worried that was just an intro. But no, that's what this is. And I love it! I mean I wouldn't take it out for a run, but sitting here coding it is just right.

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Jun 29 2023
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4

Pretty cool experimental album if you skip the rough bunch of tracks and look past the few places where the style slips into club music.

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Nov 01 2021
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4

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Bubble and Silde, Wilmot, Tow Truck Cutting Edge: Cutting Edge Overall Notes: I understand that people on this website seem not to click with these beat-driven, electronic instrumental albums (particularly when they're over an hour) but this was really good? I was expecting it to be awful sampling and haphazard bass but instead I'm hearing well engineered atmospheric techno. My only gripe is that it's over an hour long but even that I didn't feel too much. Give this one a chance, throw it on while you're doing something else if you have to. It's worth it.

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Nov 02 2023
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4

A little eerie; but somewhat chill; another instrumental good for background working/photo editing. Thought I'd hate it at first.

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Jul 25 2023
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4

Man, I enjoyed this a lot. Never come across this album, or this artist before. Sure, it starts off a bit messy, not really finding its way for a few tracks, but it does get there. One of the few times I'll listen to the same album again the next day.

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Jun 15 2022
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4

Mad techno sounds and cool beats and includes the classics Wilmot and Theme. Play this in the background to improve your focus.

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Jun 05 2023
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4

When I first read about this album I was so bummed to get it. I am just so tired of albums I haven't heard of on this list being electronic British artists from the 80s, 90s, or 2000s. But I was pleasantly surprised with this. Listened to it twice through while being productive around the house and it was perfect. This is still out of purview, so I don't feel like I can say a ton more about it. But I dig it.

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Jun 06 2023
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4

I was worried about another electronic album, but this was surprisingly good. More trip-hop and other influences.

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Apr 01 2022
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4

Some very good songs on this record, especially the Ballad of Nicky McGuire and the closing title song, but also a few tracks that I found quite repetitive and uninteresting (Wilmot for example). So overall a good album, but not as good as I remembered it to be.

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May 05 2023
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4

Liked it! Others in my group disparaged this album, for good reason, it wasn't their style. To me, this album was gradual, repetitive, and cumulative. The music was understated but I think I liked the sound overall, so I was happy to have this on in the background while I was thinking or focusing on other things.

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Jan 24 2021
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4

Never even heard of these but absolutely loved it. Like listening to one of those albums as a teenager where you just wanted to know more about them and listen to everything. Fantastic.

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Apr 27 2023
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4

Enjoyable. It's a little more dated, definitely has the same structure a lot of 90s techno had, with "let's slowly introduce one instrument after the other and then bring it back down." But it's good.

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Aug 27 2021
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4

Seemed to the nail the vibe it was going for

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Jun 27 2023
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4

Back on our '90s electronic wave. This one's wild though! Some crazy rhythms and basslines that feel truly ahead of their time, the kind of stuff that's still gripping and hard (double pause) to this day. There are stretches of songs I didn't find interesting, but the highs were impressively high. Never heard of this group/artist before, but I wouldn't mind another from them if they keep up this energy. Favorite tracks: Bubble and Slide II, Duke of Earlsfield, Chapel Street Market 9AM, Haunted Dancehall. Album art: Got that classic red/white/black color scheme I love. It's a little drawing of a straight razor. Not much else to it, but it's pretty effective. Right between forgettable and memorable for me. 4/5

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Apr 09 2023
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4

Surprisingly enjoyable. Did not expect to like it but slid down smooth as silk. I appreciate wordless music that allows me to get some work done while listening to it. Creates a soundscape and just lets you sit in it for the whole album.

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Oct 25 2021
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4

It was nice to have this album pop up the week before Halloween. True to its title, HAUNTED DANCEHALL would make a great soundtrack to a Halloween cocktail party. Or any shmoozy cocktail party. Or the dim lobby or lounge in a boutique hotel. I enjoyed having this music on. There are some great beats, unique sounds, and interesting melodies. Hard to pick any favorites as all worked well for me. Loved the music and sounds in “Tow Truck” and “Theme” had some cool beats and guitar. The title track “Haunted Dancehall” was well-titled and would make great music for a horror movie. Loved it! The album isn’t something I’d put on as an activity in and of itself, but it makes great background music for doing other things. The music is interesting without being overly distracting. HAUNTED DANCEHALL is long, but that works fine when I’m listening to it in the background. It’s full of tricks and treats, not boring or annoying as it explores some unique musical soundscapes.

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