Haunted Dancehall

Clunky uninspired dance album. A peculiar choice when there are so many candidates.

Good electronic music. There are a fair amount of sound effects — metallic noises, the sound of a sword being unsheathed, etc. — especially early on in the album. I could do without that. But when the beats get going, the music slaps. A lot of songs have live instrumentation too, or at least live-sounding samples. It’s a mix. Highlights: - “Duke of Earlsfield” has this great hip-hop bass line in the beat and then adds in a xylophone sound that could have been in Super Mario Bros. - “Wilmot” has a very different energy and I love the scatting vocals. It’s really not even an electronic song. It starts with a Middle Eastern style, settles into a reggae/dub beat and adds swinging jazz horns. Amazing!

This was just ok, didn't really blow me away with the experimental dance vibe it was going for. I didn't dislike it but I also question whether it needs to be heard before you die. I think the concept is pretty funny though, "haunted dancehall" and all of the sounds are reverbed out and spooky sounding. I do enjoy minimalist music from time to time but this one wasn't it. 2/5

The second time I listened through the whole record. But it’s still not my kind of music.

I mean, its okay - nothing spectacular. 2/5

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.

Personal review: 2/10

This album belongs on another list called 1 album that sucks ass

boring noises.

3,5

Meh. Probably went down well at the time what with the drugs n all.

Dancehall dancehall everyday

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

Not very interesting background music

Wow, that was tedious. 75 minutes of beepy noises.

Hated every second of this. All 4609 of them.

Wilmot is the key standout, the rest is sounding a bit dated

Horrible album made worse by the fact that it’s nearly an hour and a fucking half.

First song sounded like really broken plumbing

Sometimes it sounds like I'm at a construction site. The title reminds me of The Crypt of the Necrodancer, and unfortunately, it's far, far from it. Summarised in 3 words: boring, random, pointless. I was glad when it was over.

I'd really like to like it, because there are some pretty interesting ideas (including the name "Haunted Dancehall"), but the truth is that it's mostly boring

There were some songs that annoyed me and some songs with which I tapped my toes. I enjoyed the songs with progressive overlapping electronic layers the most. I can hear the roots of techno here; I wish I got more, though.

Not my cup of tea.

WHO DECIDED THIS WAS THAT IMPORTANT?!??! it's like whoever made this list was like FUCK were at 700 albums.. let's just add some random ones next . like jeez does anyone REALLY consider this to be that groundbreaking and culturally significant? not terrible but idc

Decent background noise

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

i think i had fun, so, nice

The album starts off very weak, but there's some cool stuff later on, particularly the Portishead remix of Planet D. I'm not sure why this album made the list, though.

No.

Unnecessary and redundant

mid ah 💀

I’ve never heard of Sabres Of Paradise before, but that seems like a strong band name! I can easily imagine power/glam metal bands being called this, so I sit here hopefully. Apple Music silly lists it as “alternative” so it’s hard to know how this will sound. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: none I’ve never been quite so let down by an album before. This was abysmal. I can’t fathom how anybody could ever see this as an essential album. I’d earnestly love to sit with someone who loves this, and just hear why that is. It sounds like the soundtrack to a bad detective game with no funding behind it. I truly cannot see any appeal to this. Even when I don’t like an album, I can usually at least try to understand any appeal others might see, but I’m at a loss here.

This album sucks. It’s glorified background music.

I tried. I even gave it the benefit of the doubt because I liked the second track, but the rest just wasn’t good. DNF and I don’t plan too.

Man, this sucked. I'm normally a fan of electronic music but on a lot of these tracks it felt like they were pressing random buttons on a soundboard. Almost felt comical at times. I could probably name 1001 electronic albums better than this one.

I like this well enough. Somehow I've never heard of them, though it fits right into the mid 90's techno evolution that Warp was a central part of - and I'm generally a fan of. It doesn't hit me the same as other high-profile albums from the same scene though.

Won't be rushing to listen to this again but it was nowhere near as bad as some of the reviews suggested.

Not enough going on. Over reliant on the same reverb/slap back effect. Best piece, "Theme" (NME single of the week in its day), doesn't come along until after 40 mins.

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.

Lots of interesting ideas but never executed really well. Songs overstay their welcome just like the album.

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

7th August 2023 Listened late as still catching up. All been lazy days while we wait for baby. At first I thought I would hate this and would be a real slog, but with beats from Afro, ska, reggae and Motown blending with atmospheric electro it was a welcome surprise. Blade runner vibes. 3.5 if I could.

More electronic music for nineties people on drugs. Some of the genre is good, this one falls straight into the classic "too repetitive, too boring" file.

Fucking awful

Really dull with not a lot of substance - sorry.

It's entirely possible I don't know enough about the electronic music scene to know how this record is one of the multitude I simply must hear before I die. For all I know, I live in a post "Sabres of Paradise" world. All that said, This sounds like pretty generic mid-tempo electronica.

Apperently "technos first album". But I dont like twchno so...too monotonous. But I like the song Wilmot.

Bubble and Slide on deez nuts.

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.

Sounds like one long movie score, with different songs representing different scenes and character emotions. Some tracks are cool and inventive, others tedious.

1.5/5. Not sure I would say this is music. Sounds more like random sounds to me. I was kind of into the last song though.

Nice

Whaaaat is this

Música de estilo chill-out. Agradable para escuchar de fondo. Melodías un tanto repetitivas. Sin voces en todo el disco

PREFS : Wilmot, Tow Truck, Theme, Ballad of Nicky McGuire, Chapel Street Market 9am, Haunted Dancehall MOINS PREF : Theme 4

I actually quite liked one of the earlier songs, Duke of Earlsfield. This type of music doesn't usually put me off but this album was too one note.

I ALREADY RATED THIS YOU IDIOTS

weird. 3 stars.

podría haber muerto sin haberlo escuchado

Never heard of this group before and they will probably stay obscure to me. The “songs” are seemingly just random noises shuffled together. Not a fan, too experimental for my tastes.

It starts off quite mechanical and dull. I was thinking maybe these were the guys to use this type of drum machine or process for the first time, but drum machines had been around for two decades by then. It picks up halfway, with Theme, introducing different moody and ambient sounds. The last song, which it turns out is the title track, was probably the best, IMO. I'll round up since I only listened to it once.

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.

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.

This album made me realize that the electronic scene has been around for a while. I love its current form, but I’m learning now of the roots of a lot of it. I can’t say if this or other ones we have heard inspired the ones we love today but this felt like a cool album that I know I’d never have listened to without this list and it felt like being in a Time Machine. Sort of jet set radio type but also with that 90’s edge of electronic even though it’s listed as alternative. I feel like a counter culture Gen X in the 90s would have had this album.

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

I was indifferent to this one.

The instruments of Wilmot, Tow Truck, Ballad of Nicky McGuire (idc about Nicky) I was sorry to hear this.

too long. not as bad as expected. it has moments where it's good. ballad of nicky mcguire after 3 minutes, the end of return to planet d, tow truck minus the sirens.

Very boring, Wilmot is the only reason this isn't a 1.

Complicated noise without the redeeming values of melody or harmony. There was so much more happening in ‘94!

It's OK, could be setbreak music. Good driving around music and that's what I do so it works.

If there's a genre that is way overrepresented in this, it is electronica. And this album is all the worst stereotypes about the genre imaginable. I've remarked on other albums in here that sound like an album of beats, but this is the final boss of those. It doesn't even feel like there was an attempt to make this music. The funny part is that there are some alright parts towards the end, but the beginning of the album pissed me off so much that it's getting a 1 anyway. On the bright side, the reviews are absolutely hilarious. Great job, team.

Solid dancehall album. Be great for times I need Deadmau5 type music in the background.

Couple of interesting tracks (wilmot, tow truck)

Ca pas vraiment de sens comme album. genre D'électro, avec des bruits bizarres et c'est quand meme long.. Mais j'ai pas détesté, ca s'écoute pas si mal. 3.25

J'ai apprécié mais je pense que c'était une anomalie

la vie comme un film de sciene fiction

Отлично 👍

This right after Throbbing Gristle feels like penance for getting Wish You Were Here the day prior. This was better than Throbbing Gristle, but not enough to get a 2 star.

Don’t like industrial early tecnno.

Quelques moments m'ont accroché, mais généralement je n'ai pas vraiment aimé. On dirait plus de la musique d'halloween moche que vraiment un album musical. Les samples de vocalise sont particulièrement moches. La production et le mixing sont super solides, mais j'ai un peu de la misère à comprendre l'attrait de cet album. 3/10

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

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.

Highlights: "Duke of Earlsfield," "Tow Truck," "Jacob Street 7 am" I think electronic music forces me to ask a question that I should also be asking with electric music: is it the user or the tool that's breaking new ground? And here I think it's neither. What I hear characterizing this album is fast envelope/LFO movement and really intense resonance/flanging, both for percussive effect, some super fast trem bordering on ring, and panning of complementary rhythmic delays. These would have been available for a long time, and I have to believe there would have been some 70s Moog people doing the same things. "Chapel Street Market 9 am" sounds extremely Mort Garson to me with the exception that it replaces a bonky ringmod bossa nova beat with hissing uptempo straight beat like Tangerine Dream had done. It's combining these with dub that might be new, or at least fashionable. "Theme" is very much 90s action movie swagger. But it could be more cohesive then, and it just feels like one thing after another. And if you go back just one year to stuff like Orbital and μ-Ziq's releases, it really dashes any good faith left for Haunted Dancehall. Electronic music back then wasn't all this stiff and spare. You can actually have fun with it. Just not this one.

Overall, just very scattered. Lots of neat ideas and nice atmospheres, but ultimately it lacks a focus that I would have loved to see applied to the first 3 tracks.

Didnt listen to much of it but wasnt very good

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

I had never heard of The Sabres of Paradise before. Apple Music has this listed as Alternative, so I didn't expect to hear what I heard. I just don't know what I'm supposed to feel while listening to it. I'm not much into soundscapes, which is how I'd describe this. Many of the songs are long and repeat the same beat throughout and don't change much, and the novelty of hearing some unique sounds wears off quickly, but a couple of them weren't bad. "Duke of Earlsfield" was probably the best of the bunch.

Somewhat Interesting dance music. One I had never heard of. 2.5/5

If the idea was to make the 1001 list eclectic and varied, I can think of a thousand better options than this rubbish.

Electrónica.

The most unimportant album I have ever listened to.

Abscheulich

This was a pretty unremarkable album to me. I only give it an extra star because it sounds like the artists were trying something new.

Mostly obscure, noisy, unpleasant electronic music, but there are glimpses of tasteful bass lines and synth plucks

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.

Fett!

whyyyyyyy???

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.

<333

Elevator music

One of the few albums that I instantly knew wouldn’t be good. Was waiting for done lyrics to give this album a purpose and it never arrived. This is an electronic document that is incredibly lame and annoying. Huge pass. 1.7/10

Again... why was this EVER added to this list. This is not inspired (if not equally unlistenable) as something by Schoenberg.

Quite boring, really didnt grab my attention, even though I normally like this stuff. Didn't hate it, but I have heard much better.

This is all rhythm and sound design. Techno, but not as bass heavy and entrancing as rave techno. The vibe is more similar to Aphex Twin and maybe Nine Inch Nails. I appreciate the creativity, but I don't like the music very much. Favorite song: theme 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.

BS

Haunted Dancehall seems pretty spot on for what this album is. It's a lot of jangly eccentric tones strung together with just enough rhythm to sound like music. But it's overall just kinda bizarre and almost eerie at times.

This was really cool. I don't think I'm ever going to revisit, but I'm glad I gave it a listen. I can definitely understand how this industrial style electronica was influential.

Not really my kind of music but bonus points for the mighty Andrew Weatherall

I didn’t hate it but I did want it to end.

Absolute garbage.

Älskar elektronisk musik men det här var sådär. Har kompisar som gör bättre elektronisk musik. Låten Wilmot var dock fantastisk.

странный альбом но допустим....

A lot of blipping and blopping and synthesized wankery. This was a very long and not very inspiring album. Apparently groundbreaking for techno, which is like being groundbreaking for greasy hamburgers - perhaps only good if you are young, intoxicated and don't value your health.

Rare selection on this list whre I gave up on it unfinished. Not actually offensive, but couldn't really see the point. I found nothing in particular to distinguish any of it.

This wasn’t doesn’t work for me. However, it’s got a Portishead remix halfway through the album, which is interesting because listened to Portishead yesterday. Experimental techno all the way through. 2.

I don't like this music.

This is a genre of music I've never really known what to do with.

Weird ah hell but cool

cool

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.

Does it sound like mid 90s dub? Yes. Is it 30 minutes too long? Yes. Will I ever listen to this again? No It's a time capsule for a sound, and it's a prime example of why it didn't take. Even stoned this album would annoy me.

Prima plaat, veel vette nummers. Maar rare toevoeging aan de lijst. In deze categorie zijn er meer vernieuwende platen te vinden, die beter zijn.

Aikamoista kilistelyä. Yli tunti?? Lähti kyllä hyvin ja ilahduttavasti, varmaan monipuolinen albumi jos jaksaa kuunnella kunnolla ja loppuun

Kehittyvää primitivismiä. Voisi toteuttaa tarkoitustaan, jos olisin humalassa.

The first 5 songs (almost half an hour of the album) is genuinely some of the worst music I've ever heard in my life. I'm convinced that I could make a better song than "Bubble and Slide" and I can barely play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on a piano. After this half an hour of the worst shit my ears have ever heard and me debating whether I should smash my head through a brick wall, the album suddenly realizes that "Wait, we're supposed to be doing music here" and chases away the sneaky goblins pressing random buttons on a synthesizer out of the recording room. Listening to the four songs starting from "Wilmot" and ending with "Theme 4" felt like divine intervention. My ears couldn't believe that they were actually being stimulated in a good way. It was like the musical equivalent of having a pizza after being stranded on an island eating nothing but bugs for a month. Sadly this "actual music" streak didn't last very long and with "Return to Planet D", the goblins returned (with a bubble gun or something? What the fuck is that instrument?) They go out with a bang in what I genuinely think is the worst song I have ever heard in my entire life ("Chapel Street Market 9am") and then let my sleep paralysis demon finish the album off with whatever that final track was. My overall opinion on this album is a 2/5 - I'm pretty glad I got to hear this, even if a significant part of it was about as listenable as "Woodpecker No. 1" by Merzbow (check that out if you haven't heard of it before - I promise it'll kill you instantly). Sorry for writing an entire college essay about this, but this album is a fascinating mess.

While I'm sure this band had lots of fun making this, but it was not fun to listen to. Unfortunately this was just repetitive noises for me

This album would be the same experience with my speakers muted or not.

The best part about this album is that you only have to listen to the first 20 seconds of each song and you’ll know what the rest of the album sounds like. Incredible!

Nice trip hoppy feel, will listen again...

I'm not high enough for this.

Not bad, just boring

no

Listened, didn't get. Would give it another go but I'm not sure I enjoyed it. Kinda dancey but not in a way that made me want to dance. Interesting but not in a way that made me want to listen. I dunno. Two stars?

Yup, trash.

Great ambient dub techno or whatever you want to describe it with. Haunted Dancehall is as good a description as anything else. Stands up well.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Planet d, Wilmot, Theme

Some excellent grooves here, I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Its spareness means it works as background music, but has intricacies that makes it worthy of close headphone listening too. "Duke of Earlsfield" was the song that hooked me.

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.

Kind of interesting electronica but overall this is all just background to me, nothing I'd want to listen to deliberately. If it was on, I wouldn't swap it. But, not something I would be like "Oh yeah let's throw on Haunted Dancehall!".

Totally dig this. 4/5

2/5. An interesting electronic album that feels a little too long for its own good. Some okay songs but nothing too lasting. Not bad background music though.

1001 early 90s UK electronic albums to hear before you die.

Wat een draak van een plaat

Als je dit intensief luistert is het eigenlijk gewoon niks, maar tijdens werk beviel me dit meer dan ik eigenlijk wil toegeven.

Blegh

Het heeft een uur aangestaan tijdens het werk maar ik kan me er werkelijk niks meer van herinneren.

Mijn eerste indruk was positief, dat veranderde helaas snel toen het een soort xylofoon-house werd.

Yeah it’s slow and boring but that’s the point. I think I had Wilmot on 10” single. Good times.

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

Andy Weatherall made some amazing music in his life. Unfortunately this does not include Haunted Dancehall by The Sabres of Paradise. This sounds like a 90s record shop, ambient-ish dub-ish. Nothing really happens, no atmosphere is created. Indulgent.

Good for working to so will pro ably listen more to. Who knew?!

It's fine - I don't have anything against it, necessarily, I just don't have anything for it, either. I'm not a big electronica devotee, so not really my jam.

Idk man my feet are itchy

I have two conflicting thoughts here. On the one hand, I did not want to finish this album and was sick of it very fast. On the other hand, there was some interesting stuff towards the tail end of the album. I went from laughing thinking of someone who clogged the toilet at their friends house and not knowing what to do about it in the first song, to bobbing my head along with some of them by the end of it all. Because I didn’t expect to like it, it gets extra points. This is a 2, but it could have been a 3 under different circumstances.

You know, they say you never forget your first. Firsts are something to be cherished, held dear to the heart, and looked back fondly upon. Your first kiss, your first house, your first cousin; all of these tend to be looked at with some fondness and elicit a feeling of warmth and happiness. This album is my first. I woke up this morning and felt compelled, nay, I felt destined, to listen to this album on this sordid New England morning. I can whole-heartedly say that this album is garbage. I've heard electronica be described as "transformers having sex", but I know for a fact that bumblebee laying his exhaust pipe in arcee's lil muffler sounds way better than this (prolly more to the tune of harder, better, faster, stronger). This sounds like a guy tripped on a sheet of aluminum siding and thought the sound his head made against the pavement paired well with the siding hitting the open manhole he narrowly avoided as he was having maybe the worst molly trip ever. They say you never forget your first and I think I'll remember that I gave a one star review, but please, if there is any justice in this world, let me forget this album.

I have looked into the crystal ball… I see many 1’s in your future… Makes Ian Dury sound like f***** Mozart

Really good stuff. Had never heard of it before.

I suppose somebody will like this, just not me. Find something to give a rhythic base and then play a sparse keyboard arrangement over that. Repeat 14 times.

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

I don't know what it is about this album that I like. It isn't what I normally listen to and I'm not saying I think it is amazing. I just really enjoyed it. Background music with a bonus. It's different. I plan to keep playing this one in the future.

God damn this was terrible

A little long, and a little dull, but not terrible

This was atrocious, I couldn't finish.

eh

lol convinced that whoever chose these records fucking HATES electronic music, so they picked the worst shit they could find, like this lazy nonsense

It has maybe 2 songs that saves it a bit Just not my kind of cup of tea i guess

Utterly disposable rave soundtrack.

Closest to dark ambient music/hauntology in this list so far (I don’t see many others arousing a similar comparison). The day before I heard this I happened to be scrolling through the worst-rated albums on this list, so that might have affected how I perceived this one. There’s definitely a common theme of non-musical, avant-garde elements in those albums, and this is no exception; where did they get those bizarre, metallic sounds for Bubble & Slide? Yet if they wanted to evoke rain dripping through a decaying discotheque’s ceiling, then sure, they pulled it off. HL: “Haunted Dancehall”, “Duke of Earlsfield”, “Wilmot”, “Planet D (Portishead Remix)”

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

You appreciated the theme of the album, might listen again as background music

I like electronic music but this wasn’t it

I'm told that this has been described as the first techno concept album (whoever said that should really get out more), but if that's the case, then I have no idea what the concept of this album is, since there are no words. It's pretty mediocre overall. Not bad by any means, but it builds very slowly and there was never really a moment that made me sit up and pay attention. By the time I was halfway through the album I was ready to be done with it 3/5

Disappointing and highly forgettable

Experimental techno this was certainly interesting and different , glad I listen but not sure I’ll rush back.

It’s definitely a vibe, so it’s not for everyone.

Pretty niche electronica, but plenty of interest, I really enjoyed it

Uninteresting techno. Too much echo effect. A couple tracks have a catchy hook, but not enough to make me want to keep listening. Definitely not for me.

Didn't really know what to say about this one, other than it provided a mesmerizing soundtrack for both my wife and 5 year old grandson while they did a painting project.

When I was a junior in college, I studied abroad in England. On the weekends, we would take trips and several times we went to London. On one of those London excursions, our professor took us to the Tate museum, which is London's modern art museum. Now, I'm not opposed to modern art, I quite enjoy a lot of it. But, when I walked into this museum and the first exhibit was a TV with a loop of a guy inhaling and exhaling a cigarette, I thought to myself, "Well that's not really something, is it?" Later in the museum, we came to an exhibit that was simply a toilet seat hanging on a wall. "Ok," I told myself, "this is definitely not art museum worthy. What gives?" Thus began a long debate with my professor and some other classmates about what defines art. My concern wasn't so much "what is art?" ...of course, hanging a toilet seat on a wall can be considered "art", my concern was "why does this belong in a museum?" The same can be said about The Sabres of Paradise Haunted Dancehall album. There are moments where the melody is interest, the beat moves, and the song has rhythm. But much of the album is empty, repetitive noise. And still, there are tracks that sound like someone sat in a big empty room with concrete walls and played around with one of those old toy Casio keyboards we all had in the 80s, using the pre-recorded beats and banging away on the keys to make "music" This isn't horrible as other reviewers might suggest, but why, why why, would anyone think this is a noteworthy album, among a mere 1001, that everyone should hear during their lifetime?

Overall pretty boring. Was hoping to hear something more moody or more atmospheric but it never happen.

Edit every song down to 3 minutes and maybe it’s a better record.

This was interesting for a song or two. Then it went on for 70 minutes.

Not for me. Just pretty boring overall.

I had no idea what I was in for when I saw this album pop up this morning. 90's electronica from the UK. I had reservations because the last British electronica band I listened to in this generator was Orbital, and my God were they ever awful. I was pleased to find out though that these guys are much better than Orbital. Still not my favourite type of music, but it didn't irritate me like Orbital's stuff did. These guys had a few exploratory songs which were irritating, but they also tended to be shorter. When they were experimenting, the band tended to enjoy metallic tings and bangs which was annoying (Theme 4, Bubble and Slide, Bubble and Slide II) One thing these guys did do well is explore the stereo channels, making you (the listener) feel like you were standing still, and the music was moving around you, which was cool. The flow of different sound bytes, noises, and beats was by times so soothing and repetitive that it almost put me to sleep a few times. The one thing I don't get about electronica is the mostly lack of a bass line (it's there, but subtle, unlike techno or house music). Electronica has a beat which is perceived through the repetition of noises and it just doesn't hold my interest the same way a sternum rattling bass does. If this kind of music was played in a club, I can picture zombie like listeners just shuffling about and standing there staring at the wall, lulled into a trance by the music. Overall, this wasn't a terrible album. I can't see myself ever listening to it again, just because it isn't my genre of music, but I didn't mind the listen today. Favourite songs: Planet D (Portishead Remix), Theme, Tow Truck, Wilmot, Ballad of Nicky McGuire Least favourite songs: Theme 4, Bubble and Slide, Bubble and Slide II, Flight Path Estate, Jacob Street 7am, Return to Planet D 2/5

It was a good background work album

I know this isn’t a great album. It’s basically just a bunch of repetitive beats and noise. …However….I did listen to it while on a road biking exercise ride, and I have to admit, it served a good purpose. It was not distracting, no vocals to draw my attention, and the music had a good pace and cadence to it that helped me just get into a zen zone and just pedal away. So it has its place.

Surprisingly good.

Weird but cool. Trip hoppy

This sounded like extra-harsh trip-hop and staying up all night. Not sure if that's the point, but it worked for me if it took a little long to get to it.

interesting - very low fi and not my usual tea. very background music but Ballad of Nicky Maguire was good with that synth cutting in.

Electronica is not my sound, this was worse than normal.

It's music and you can dance to it if you have no shame.

4/10 did not need to hear this before I die

4/10. I don't see why I have to listen to this before I die, I don't see why it was so long, and moreover I just didn't care for it much.

Just not good at all. 2/10

Very tasteful techno music during the whole project, which is one of the best of the genre at least of that period.

I expected this to be terrible based on other comments. And it wasn't! It was not great either though. The title is massively misleading. This is mostly okay ambient electronic music for chores or focus time on your IT job with some parts that I can only assume are random clicks on sound effect board. I am unable to estimate how original this was back in it's day but now it's as generic as self-made youtuber music for their video to not have copyright issues.

Not for me, Clive. Well, at least not sober at 10am on a Wednesday.

I don’t get it.

OK. I was expecting something a tad more eery. 2.5/5

Ça fait de la musique de fond, ça vieilli plutôt mal, c’est pas super intéressant. C’est pas très profond comme album.

Un autre cas où la pochette ne m'inspirait pas. Je suis agréablement surpris de cette écoute. Plus l'album avançait et plus j'aimais pour finalement réaliser que Geoff Barrow de Portishead est impliqué ainsi que Mr. Scruff. On sent un courant de musique électronique apparaître dans cet album.

J'ai l'impression qu'il me faudrait plusieurs écoutes pour me familiariser. Ça ne m'emballe pas dès le départ.

okay, I guess?

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.

Fine!

cool sound scape but not very exciting

A bit of a slow start, but picked up a bit in the middle. Still a pretty strange album, but worth a listen.

Not the vibe for my day today. Merits, maybe.

Música electrónica. Empezó gustándome, pero terminó rayándome. Venga, un 3.

Wasn't much of a fan

It has a few peaks but its not particularly interesting

Favourite track(s): Duke of Earlsfield; Theme Music like this makes you think about what you may base your review scores on. I would probably never listen to these tracks again just sitting down on my sofa. But for certain situations, some of these tracks may be the perfect vibe. Still, the album feels, in part, more like a collection of beat ideas than an album telling a story from start to finish.

It demands too much presence to be "ambient", while the songs find one progression they like and continue to beat it into the ground for six, sometimes seven whole minutes. I like a lot of electronica, but it's the first record I've received in a while where I was pretty desperate to stop listening to it.

One more beat tape. Sounds like some video game music. Platformer sounds

boring experimental electronic noise

Excellent road trip music when you don't know what you feel like listening too.

solid electronica sound. Did not strike me as overly distinctive.

Meh

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

When I saw that cover art and title I thought maybe I was going to get some psychobilly or horror punk, maybe even some demented ska simular to Choking Victim What I got instead was a bunch of bleeps and bloops that rarely went anywhere. Some of the bleeps and bloops aren't too bad. The Portishead remix was especially solid. However more often that not it this album missed and I would be waiting for the song to end.

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.

It is techno music or a precursor to EDM. Unnecessary to have an entire album of this music. EDM can be tolerable but I don't need nearly 80 minutes of it. This is somewhere between a 1 and a 2. I did not hate it, but I did skip through most of the songs. Some of the songs were tolerable but not as an entire album. I will round down.

Interesting. I probably will never return to this album though – nothing really latched onto me. It's hard for me to pin the influence of this album.

I liked this more than I thought I would - great music for background music/while working. Would put it on again for focusing.

This started off sounding like high schools messing around, but it ended sounding like pretentious high schoolers messing around.

It's just a bunch of noise, I didn't even finish the album, it's a no from me

I’ve never heard of this band or this album, but I do like 2000s indie rock. It feels much more produced and loud than the indie rock I know, which is not at all a bad thing. Turns out I do one song by this band, Heads Will Roll, as a meme song (I think the meme song is a remix, which is actually much worse in my opinion than the original). The rest of the album seems to be much more in line with what I was expecting for an indie band. I did kind of like the super high energy of the first two tracks, which is a bit of a shame as the rest of the album is much more mellow. Still a very good indie album. Fav Track: Soft Shock 4/5

Not my thing, made me want to pee :c

The sound is too repetitive. It doesn't build quickly enough, which leaves me feeling frustrated. There isn't much complexity. I like all the individual components of each song, but they just go on for too long, and I get bored. Planet D is enjoyable. Wilmot stands out and is also notably the most played song on the album. The title song, Haunted Dancehall was fun. I'd listen to a few of these songs again but probably not the band or album overall.

Mitähän vittua tämäkin levy tekee näillä listoilla? Vois taas toimia sienien kanssa, mahdollisesti oluen kanssa, mutta ei missään tapauksessa koronassa. VMP!

Joutu lopettaa kesken ku ei toiminu sopivasti hetkeen. Biisien käynnistyttyä diggailin, mut tykkään vähän nopeemmasta menosta asiaan. Tän sortin genressä paljon parempiakin

2/5 naaaah

It's not bad but it really isn't more than that. It's a re-listen because I've heard the album before in the 90's. Even then I had the same feeling. It's not bad, but it never stands out. The single version of Wilmot was a lot more interesting than the version they put on the album.

This electronic effects music has its moments but it's mostly strange background "music" for me...really more sounds than music. 1.5 🌟

Nope

Oh heck yeah! I loved it!

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

Oh boy…. Another one of these faux music albums…. It isn’t horrible, but seriously…did I really need to hear THIS before I die? 2/5.

Not really for me

We can stop looking now. We've found the worst album on this list.

This was weird

3.75

Okay

I don't know why this was on the list.

I suppose if I was high enough...

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.

Nice beats to have in the background

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.

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.

One of the worst albums i have ever endured. Absolute shit. If i could, this would get minus stars

Noisy.

This electronic effects music has its moments but it's mostly strange background "music" for me...really more sounds than music. 1.5 🌟

3/5. Very sparse, I want more beats in the beats

It's like the background music for a game. Really boring to listen to and sounds like it's just repeating similar songs.

Is this music? Meh.

I appreciate this as being creative but I didn't connect with it. And it felt like it was a million years long.

Mostly haunted and not really dancehall

Noise.

Definitely some great tracks on here. My listening was a bit fragmented over the day which probably didn't help. I think there's probably a right frame of mind needed for experimental techno, or maybe not, perhaps that's the point. Wilmot is a brilliant track!

Sounds like an annoying, repetitive, overlong version of a kraftwerk album. Also first song sounded like diarrhea

Nice background music.

There's a little bit of nice ambience on here, but it wasn't worth an hour and a quarter of my listening time to get to.

It's barely the first song and I think I want to kill myself. Second one is even worse. Third one is slightly better but I still don't know why I'm subjecting myself to this torture. Fourth song and no. I can't do this any more. I refuse. I like some weird, abstract, noisy shit but this is just too much. This is barely a peg below Merzbow and black/death metal in unlistenability. How the hell did this make a list of "1001 album you MUST hear before you die?" If anything, this should be on "1001 albums that make you want to die immediately upon listening."

The worst album I have ever listened to all the way through, still not sure why I bothered. It was clear early on that there were no musicians involved! Not even any good as background music, unlikely to be enjoyed by anyone with ears. Just wish I could give it no star, as even one is way too generous

Of all the great stuff Warp Records released they decided to include this in this list? Why? It does get slightly better at the end though

I am beginning to question this entire list because of albums like this

Boring

Perfect background music to studying or working, gaming, cooking, walking, or even reading to. Sounds like a cool soundtrack to a dystopian sci-fi game or movie. At the same time, there's no memorable songs on it as it all kind of blends together. I also wouldn't listen to this much out of pure enjoyment like the 4s and 5s I've rated so far. A good album still though.

massa, viu

90's dance. Being on drugs and in a dimly lit field on a cold night in March with the smell of cow shit in the air would probably help with the enjoyment. Best Tracks: Duke of Earlsfield; Wilmot; Theme

Honestly not horrible! I kinda enjoyed this cause it was super different

seemed like a relatively primitive use of computers/synthesizers in electronic music production. may have been groundbreaking in its day but lacks impact in a modern listening environment

I really really don't dig it

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

amazing

2nd half grew on me

Masomenos

Really bad. 1

Música electrónica. Empezó gustándome, pero terminó rayándome. Venga, un 3.

Electrónico hipnotizante, antiguo

Not the worst album I’ve had but not the best either, don’t care for techno

wilmot is a very interesting song, funky house music, would likely be better to dance to than to just listen to. Shrooms would probably help too

I listened to this while having some Guinness and talking about life with my brother, for that it is really fitting. Really unique ambient house with some interesting textures, especially on the drum tracks. A lot of the songs feel like you're listening to an 808 trapped inside of a black hole

Kind neat, but still more of background music.

I really tried to enjoy this but it just isn't my cup of tea. It sounds like the music you mute during a phone game. It is surely important in the grand scheme of EDM and such but it just irritated me.

Unpleasant noises for over an hour. Don't think there's anything about the album I like.

Trafilo gatunek ktory nie jestem w stanie zrozumiec jak zyje, inteligentna muzyka taneczna lub IDM z anglinskiego, haunted dancehall to drugi krazek z roku 94 wyspiarskiej bandy the sabres of paradise,, ktorej trzech czlonkow spolodzilo ten albumik, 14 songow i godzina 16 minut odsluchu, to jak na moje uszy stanowczo zbyt wiele, wiec ten inteligento taneczny krazek jest wystarczajaco dlugi zeby przemycic jeszcze kilka innych gatunkow muzycznych, wsrod ktorych z pewnscia znadzje sie ambient, moze same noisy, no i dub, wiec jak dla mnie traki pomiedzy planet d a theme 4 brzmialy najprzystepnie i najbardziej murzynsko, w sensie brzmia bardziej jak gotowe bity na ktore mozna sie wbic, a nie blizej nieokreslone halasowo manipulacje, wiec jesli mialbym kroic plyte, to wlasnie te czesc bym zabral dla siebie, na plejke leci planet d, podobno mial to byc jeden z pierwszych koncept albumow w gatunku techniany, ale wizja nawiedzonego dancehallu jakos nie przebiegla mi pzez mysl, ze kawalki opowiadaja jakas historie, bo nie moge tego uslyszec a jednak tak jest, moze cos sie uda ogarnac zeby zalagodzic sprawe, ale to pewno trzeba ladnie po kablach ladowac

Background music

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!

An interesting experiment. But hey, experiments fail all the time.

Too dated and weird

Ugh, I could not get into this.

Sorta alright, not great

It's fine, but mostly feels like background music to me. Much of it is extremely repetitive. 3 stars.

Meh

Too experimental, not enough character

Bij het begin van het album dacht ik: "Dit hou ik nooit vol". Maar bleek uiteindelijk wel mee te vallen. Al denk ik het niet opnieuw op te rakelen om nog eens te beluisteren