The Contino Sessions

It's hard to place this album in a box. It was gloomy. It was boring. It was also low-key engaging - the instrumental rave ups where especially nice. Is this just a dark metaphor for a material driven life? Death in Las Vegas. Death in Monaco. Aging in West Palm Beach. I feel no need to return to this album. Their one song on the Lost In Translation soundtrack is enough for me. C-

I honestly didn't notice this album ended the first time I listened to it. It was very background noise for me, and some tracks such as "Aisha" made me cringe because it felt like it was trying so hard to be edgy. "Lever Street" was the best song on the album imo. It wasn't BAD in the ways the other 1 star albums were, but I don't think it deserves a place on the 1,001 album list because so much of it is snoozy.

Wow, what an album. I was immediately hooked from the beginning with the slow build up in Dirge, to such satisfying guitar and synth instrumentation. I honestly was not expecting an electronic album, but its a nice change of pace. Every song progresses in such a satisfying way. I love the use of rock instruments on top of the synths, giving it a grungier feeling, reminiscent of Massive Attack or Gorillaz, and even Black Moth Super Rainbow on the song Luther's Funk. Some of these songs are much more abrasive and hard for what I'd expect from a 90's electronic album, it had a very modern feeling. I love all the songs on this album, but the stand out for me is Aisha. I love Iggy Pop's spoken-word vocals on this song, mixed with the guitars and synth solos, it's just so captivating. I really don't have any complaints about this album at all. The songs were all different enough to where it didn't feel repetitive, but still felt like a consitent album. Every track was a unique experience and my expectations were always shattered each time, there were so many intricate progressions and twists that kept me on my toes. There's a lot of songs on this album that I'll be saving to my playlist, I'm excited to listen to it again. Favorite track: Aisha, Dirge, Luther's Funk, Lever Street - Least Favorite track: none

I was obsessed with Death in Vegas's first album- Dead Elvis. It just seemed effortlessly cool. I was counting the days for the release of their second album, and it didn't disappoint. This album started their move towards a more commercial sound and amped up the guest appearances but this release maintained the effortless cool.

What an album - from the opener Dirge it just builds brilliantly until Aisha which is such a tune , feels dirty and gritty and a strong step away from the “big beat” they started with. The whole album flows brilliantly with a dark edge and I totally forgot just how good it was. Take out the Bobby Gillespie track and you can still hear parts Primal Scream etc. Absolutely stellar

May have been relatively interesting had it come out in 92, but I don’t understand why it would take 7 years for these guys to come up with a cut-rate Screamadelica 2.0.

Saw DIV live back in the day. A musician friend had to leave, he was worried about permanently damaging his hearing. it was a great gig. Couldn't believe how many people were on stage. The idea of a guest vocalist was pretty original when it was released. Nowadays every other tune seems to be doing some type of collaboration. These were not driven by marketing and sales but by finding the voice/character/mood to match the song. Iggy pop absolutely nails Aisha. On the next album Paul Weller and Liam Gallagher create works they never would have on their own and equal to their best. Cover art 3.5/5

It has rough patches but manages to pull itself together sometimes.

The screeching hurt my ears.

Fucking amazing, really haven't heard anything like it before. Can't be arsed to find the notes but feels like that sort of punk, dark music that London art students like done really, really well. Not lazy and leaving shit to chance. Somewhat groovy? Had an air of stone roses. Think they also sort of remind me of Underworld which will always help. Dirge and Aisha amazing tracks all through. 4 feels too low so I will go with 4.6.

Any album that features Iggy Pop singing "Aisha, I'm viiibraaatiiing" gets five stars by default.

This is entirely new to me and I loved it. It’s a very dark album, but there are epic moments like “Flying” where it loosens up and feels lighter. “Aisha” has a great rock groove under those disturbing lyrics. “Aladdin’s Story” is a pretty cool take on the classic ‘Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…’. I enjoyed the rock-meets-electronica of this. Death In Vegas is a group I will check out further. Not a happy album, but one I am happy to have encountered!

Loved the it, good and grimy

I loved this album, the beats, the progression, everything just matched perfectly together.

An album I randomly discovered while diving through the stacks at my favorite record shop in 2001. I was visiting an independent record shop in Portland, trying to make sure that they had copies of our debut album available and not buried in a box somewhere. Lo and behold, right behind our record, in alphabetical order was this band that I had never heard of before. With a name like Death in Vegas, I imagined a group of swinging lounge lizards or perhaps a psychobilly / rockabilly group. so, imagine my surprise when it turned out to be very cool Electronic Rock from London. I remember Iggy Pop's performance on "Aisha" truly making me anxious in the best of ways. Such a unique blend of trip hop, post rock, noise rock, alternative rock, dance, and electronica. Favorite tracks : "Dirge", "Soul Auctioneer", "Death Threat" , "Flying", "Aisha", and "Lever Street" .

Marvelous! I have always enjoyed this album, it's got such a big sound. It's dirty and it's passionate.

Atmospheric and cool

Fav: Dirge Least Fav: Death Threat This was awesome, loved the mix of rock and electronic sounds together, like a rockier version of groups such as Portishead. Thoroughly enjoyed!

There's a thing to be said about repetition. Handled nicely, it can lead to a state of mind that makes you let go at last. It can lull you to sleep, but it can also break the barriers you routinely erect around you, and take you to higher level of awareness. And it's when repetition it has this hypnotic quality that it can transcend genres and trends. This album couldn't be further from a Steve Reich masterpiece, I'll grant you that. And yet I truly believe transcendence-via-repetition is *also* what it accomplishes here, and this as "dated" as said album sounds today. It's another sort of repetition--one you can come upon throughout decades of modern music, from The 13th Floor Elevators and The Velvet Underground to Jaimie xx, Porridge Radio or Crack Cloud. And this is why I don't care so much about the "nineties electronic rock" style displayed in this particular LP as I care about what it *does* within those confines. I remember listening to *The Contino Sessions* when it came out, mostly because of "Dirge"'s success among indie crowds (that simple "la-la-laaaaa" vocal line is just infectious). And if I wasn't enthralled to the point of buying the album then, I was still pretty enthusiastic about it... But what strikes me *now* is that I remember almost all the tracks in this LP, even though it's been ages since I listened to it: "Soul Auctioneer", with Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie sounding like a stoned bum on it ; the menace of *Death Threat" ; the elated "Flying", a more interesting and more abrasive version of an Archive cut ; weird big-beat rocker "Aisha" allowing Iggy Pop to let his iconic persona shine through (plus that oriental-sounding solo on a wind instrument in its midway point, as the chords modulate and up the ante--a touch of genius for sure!) ; "Lever Street" is moving like few instrumental interludes can be ; as for "Alladin's Story", this laidback-yet-surprising cover of an obscure Rolling Stones composition brings a welcome vintage atmosphere to the proceedings; "Broken Little Sister" then goes back to the band's more sinister side, like a version of Spiritualized with balls instead of the latter's harmless sing-song meanderings (and one can't thank The Jesus And Mary Chain's Jim Reid enough for his vocal performance here) ; and finally, closer "Neptune City", which goes full-psychedelic on the listener, using its guitar (or sitar?) loops to great effects. There's not a single dud in this album, actually, and I didn't expect to like it as much as I just did. So I'm buying it right now. I should have bought it decades ago, come to think of it. I'm also buying *Scorpio Rising*, the full-length record Death In Vegas released after this one, in 2023. Contrary to *The Contino Sessions*, there are a couple of duds in it. But the highlights are even more spectacular, with "Girls" of *Lost In Translation* fame, rocker "Scorpio Rising" (featuring Liam Gallagher--I can't resist adding "of Oasis fame" here, ha ha), plus Paul Weller (of *The Jam* fame) performing the vocals of that Gene Clark cover. Not to mention "Killing Smiles" and its lush string section, (featuring Hope Sandoval), and yet another great psychedelic closer, "Help Yourself"--also with Hope Sandoval, and this one ten minutes long. Now with those two records, I can say I have all Death In Vegas' essential albums. Or at least, that's how I feel... On a sidenote, and before ending this short review with the usual closing credits, I've just read the scalding review Pitchfork published about *The Contino Sessions* at the time Death In Vegas released it. Amazing how you can be wrong on so many levels. Mark my words, there's no problem expressing personal (dis)tastes, and mileages can vary when it comes to repetitive, "hypnotic" music. But when you're complaining about the so-called "bad" basslines in the album, or when you keep on comparing Death In Vegas with Primal Scream--even if they're very different animals (Primal Scream never used *repetition* in the way that Death In Vegas does)--it means you're either deaf or intellectually lazy. Or maybe both. Plus, apart from very few *bons mots* here and there, that review is terribly written. *The most trusted voice in music*. Yeah, right. Waiting for the moment when Pitchfork will give a non-"canon" retrospective grading to this LP, as they have already done in the recent past. In the meantime... Number of albums left to review: 497 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 239 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 114 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 147

Super trippy. Sounds like the soundtrack to Dr Who if he existed in the Matrix universe. Flying sounds exactly like the Mighty Boosh theme song. Big journey album, constantly throws something different at you to think about. Highlight is definitely Aisha, big sucker for the spoken word styles. AISHA, I'M VIBRATING. Aladdin's Story is a close second, very cruisey sax and vocals.

Love it, always have, amazing album

Enjoyed this album but it didn’t instantly grab me like similar albums have. I liked that they used a lot of live instruments in the recording of this

Another artist/album I don't know, Bri'ish of course. This is an interesting project--classified as electronica, but it's somewhere between electronic and shoegaze-y rock. The combo works well and the music is decent throughout, but I'm not grabbed by much here. Fades to the background pretty quickly, but I LOVE the glitchy sound that comes up on "Aisha." That's a banger track. I saw on Wikipedia that Pitchfork gave this a 3.9! The review is hilarious, and in my favorite bit the critic said that Aisha "bursts through the speakers with such ferocity as to make you drop the saucepan of bathtub crank you just brewed up all over your bisexual girlfriend's Cocker Spaniel." Favorite tracks: Dirge, Aisha. Album art: Extremely boring, instantly forgettable. I do like the color scheme but the imagery is lame. See Metallica's "Kill 'Em All" for a good red/white/black album cover.

It sounds like they had loads of fun playing with oscillating electronic sounds but none of the tracks go anywhere. The music just plods along with no element of surprise and ultimately it's just a bit of a bore.

The first track is called Dirge, but I actually liked that one - the real dirges come later. My main issue with this album though is that it’s trying a bit too hard to be a very 1990s idea of cool, and has aged like milk as a result.

Back in 2000, I bought a paperback copy of Armadillo, by William Boyd. Read it on the Oxford Tube, going to visit my sister, finished it on the way back. Felt proper clever with myself. Idly wondered about the fake-Fela musician he invented, scratched my head a little about his coterie of neighbours and their very bijoux building (come on, the housing market was daggers out at dawn then. I mean, even the Guardian had a property supplement. Which, incidentally, once reported that the best thing you could do about N15 was to drive through it. But this is a digression nested under a digression...) I re-read Armadillo a couple of years ago. Christ. Was I so gullible? It's an intelligent, well written, and essentially empty book, in that a very talented author basically dictated sixty thousand words down the line, safe in the knowledge that any number of readers would fall for its faux-realism and earn him back his advance. (It was adapted for television too. I didn't watch it because I "didn't want to contaminate the vibe of the original". Yes, I said this. Yes, I should be taken out at dawn, blindfolded, and shot. Incidentally, the adaptation sank without trace). This has nothing at all to do with The Contino Sessions, other than I feel exactly the same about this album. Actually, a little worse, because I have absolutely nothing to say about it other than to say that I was conned by it in the same way that I was conned by Armadillo.

Really liked this

A mix of Air and NIN (in my very expert opinion)

I've always loved this album. It sounds like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Screamadelica-era Primal Scream, and The Stooges all having a jam session together. Given that members of those bands all make appearances, that's perhaps not surprising. Death in Vegas always managed to combine a bleak dirge-filled style of rock with subtle elements of electronica and noisy ambient textures. But "The Contino Sessions" is their clear best album. It's here that they found the best mix of collaborators that their music desperately needed. While their other albums have some good songs, this is the album that (for me) hits their targets on every track. There is argubly some filler like "Death Threat", which doesn't stand up on its own terribly well. But as an entire album, it fits into the flow perfectly, leading into the atmospheric "Flying" and the energic and distorted, Iggy Pop-lead "Aisha". The penultimate track "Broken Little Sister" is the most somber and dark point to the album, but listeners get a much needed reprieve on the surprisingly upbeat closer "Neptune City". "The Contino Sessions" has been a favorite of mine for decades and still holds up today.

Love this album, reminds me of all the great parts of Nine Inch Nails recent (?) albums. Especially Hesitation Marks which is my favourite NIN album by far. Amazing synth/glitch industrial that is a pleasure to listen to with a great motive of morse code. An instant classic that I will listen to with some regularity. Am Standouts: Death Threat - Just a great synth sound Aisha - Amazing heavy guitar rhythm Broken Little Sister - It just soo NIN like in all the good ways

1999. London. Electronic, neo-psychedelia, shoegaze. !!!

I've long been a fan of Death In Vegas so it was nice to revist. Dirge is just such a great opener and those vocals are just delicious. Aisha is another standout.

Long been a personal fave! Transports me straight back to uni. Thankfully there's a lot of high scoring reviews that have been upvoted on this one. Not sure I could have taken another kick in the nostalgia-centre like with The Bees. 😅 Ah cool, reviewing it has revealed to me that it's Dot Allison providing the dreamy vocals on "Dirge" - I got into her solo stuff pretty recently! Fave tracks - "Dirge", "Aisha", "Lever Street"

Very cool. Surprising I never heard this before

This was getting a ton of the hate in the comics, so I was plenty surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It's really groovy and vibey. Dirge is so good they added 6 additional versions of it on the second disk. These songs continue to build and remind me of some of the backings on a Gorillaz album or something. Soul Auctioneer, Aladdin's Story, and One More Time are all great. I liked this a lot and I never would have found it on my own.

Once again, shock as local trip-hop enjoyer enjoys really good trip-hop. Seriously, this one just whips all the way down.

This was for me the 1999 release at the time and I listened to it a lot. Now in 2024 it sounds a little less special but still worth 5 stars (even worth 5 stars for all its Primal Scream vibes). On an aside: check out Trans-love Energies - their real masterpiece (10/10). score in 1999: 10/10 score in 2024: 9/10

Love this a looooot

five stars for the first track alone

Hearing this album again is like slipping into a warm friend. I really enjoy the mood it sets. And despite having owned this album since pretty much its release, I had genuinely no idea that it was Iggy Pop singing Aisha. I'm very glad I listened to it again. Might even listen to Dead Elvis next.

very beck i like it a lot

Very vibey.

First time listening to a full Death in Vegas album, and it’s incredible. It’s in its own space somewhere between electronic and rock, and everything just flows so well. The easiest 5* in a while for me.

Aw Hells Yes. was not expecting this to be on this list. Delighted

listened to this a lot

Dark, unique, somewhat unorthodox but easy to listen to. Stand out tracks - Dirge - Soul Auctioneer - lever Street - Aisha - Aladdin's story

Rock On Tommy

Good!

Surprisingly awesome. Dirty, grimey, electronic fat throbbing beats. The lyrics get in the way more than they help the songs, but they are pretty sparse, so are only a minor distraction. Absolutely loved this vibe.

Really interesting and eclectic sound which vibed with me!

this is heavenly. Dirge, the distorted guitar and melodic synth in Flying, the trumpet(?) in Aladdin's Story, the cover image is so beautifully composed only gripe I have is that Soul Auctioneer is very monotonous

joder pues cunde un kilo

Aisha has been one of my favourite tracks forever, and I’d always wanted to listen to the album it’s from. Strange that I never recognised Iggy’s voice though. Listened to it a few times over the past couple of days. Not many albums I can both intentionally listen to, and have them in the background while reading, but this works for me.

nice

I loved this album. It was consistently strange and catered to my taste perfectly. One of my favorites so far (i feel like that doesn't surprise anyone). this album isn't for everyone but it's definitely for me.

The part in Aisha that goes "aaaaaaaaa"? Five stars for that alone.

Wild that this was released in 99. It's way ahead of its time, about 15 years too early. Some lovely cameos too.

Moody

I am not familiar with DEATH IN VEGAS’s music at all, but aware of the band’s existence. After to THE CONTINO SESSIONS, the album is right up my alley. The opening track “Dirge” starts with a PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED (PIL) instrumental right off METAL BOX, then DIV take off on their own path exploring similar terrain but with different textures. A great record and the deluxe edition is even ten times better. If you dig the vibe, DON’T EVEN BOTHER WITH THE STANDARD RELEASE. In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, only THE CONTINO SESSIONS is included, I have a feeling that I’ll be disappointed that there are more albums included. But I can always investigate them on my own time. Rate Artist: DEATH IN VEGAS (5.0) Rate Album (Year): THE CONTINO SESSIONS (1999 Original) (5.0) Rate Album (Year): THE CONTINO SESSIONS (2016 Deluxe) (5.0) Ranking of DEATH IN VEGAS - THE CONTINO SESSIONS songs No. Title Length 1-01) Dirge 5:43 10.0/10 (instrumental) 1-02) Soul Auctioneer 6:00 09.5/10 1-03) Death Threat 4:51 09.0/10 1-04) Flying 7:07 09.5/10 1-05) Aisha 5:54 10.0/10 1-06) Lever Street 3:40 09.5/10 (instrumental) 1-07) Aladdin's Story 4:45 10.0/10 1-08) Broken Little Sister 5:19 09.5/10 1-09) Neptune City 4:44 10.0/10 Original 1999 Release 87.0/90 = 9.66 / 2 = 4.83 1-10) Blood Yawning 7:16 10.0/10 1-11) One More Time 7:02 10.0/10 1-12) Luther's Funk 4:59 10.0/10 Bonus Tracks 2-01) Aisha (Edit) 3:53 10.0/10 2-02) Dirge (#2) 3:39 10.0/10 (instrumental) 2-03) Dirge (Slam Mix) 7:49 10.0/10 (instrumental) 2-04) Dirge (The Micronauts Remix) 6:42 10.0/10 (instrumental) 2-05) Dirge (The Micronauts Bonus Beats) 6:09 10.0/10 (instrumental) 2-06) Dirge (Cossack Apocalypse Mix) 8:16 10.0/10 (instrumental) 2-07) Dirge (Adrian Sherwood Remix) 5:28 10.0/10 (instrumental) 2-08) Neptune City (Concrete Funk 1) 5:27 10.0/10 2-09) Neptune City (Concrete Funk 2) 5:09 10.0/10 2-10) Aisha (Nightclubbing) 5:16 10.0/10 2-11) Aisha (Nightclubbing Instrumental) 5:14 10.0/10 Deluxe 2016 Release 227.0/230 = 9.87 / 2 = 4.93

Me agrada haber esperado tanto tiempo para escribir este párrafo. Sin conocer nada de ellos de inicio me pareció que era un disco que la primera canción era espectacular y el resto iba bajando hasta quedar casi mediocre hacia el final. Después de darle varias oportunidades más es un disco que te va ganando y se va desdoblando poco a poco. Esa primera canción sigue siendo un punto altísimo, una pista espeluznante que comienza con un siniestro rasgueo de dos acordes de una guitarra eléctrica tintineante y un canto inquietante de "La La La La," a medida que avanza la canción, la tensión aumenta con un ritmo de bajo hipnótico y un teclado vintage hasta el punto en que se siente claustrofóbico. Establece el tono para el resto del disco y declara fuerte y a la cara que el disco va a ser un viaje oscuro. Canciones como "Dirge", así como "Soul Auctioneer" y "Broken Little Sister" logran usar muy pocas letras y están configuradas para pintar un paisaje sonoro visceral y surrealista que es tanto interesante como inquietante. Casi se puede escuchar un viento hueco que sopla a través de un cementerio desierto en una pista y una sirena a distancia que viene de un callejón en la siguiente. En muchos aspectos se convirtió en uno de esos discos que de verdad pinta imágenes en tu cabeza como si fuera una banda sonora a una película inexistente (lo cual también ahora me hace pensar en la infravalorada música de Barry Adamson y cómo me gustaría poder publicitarlo a mucha más gente). Adelante "Aisha" nos presenta un riff distorsionado y difuso que se reproduce una y otra vez con un ritmo de batería al estilo de AC/DC y letras narrativas de Iggy Pop sobre un asesino caníbal que vive en un cementerio terminando con un grito desgarrador y un solo de órgano sesentero a no más poder. Creo que se me hace muy interesante que en mi opinión no hay nada en este disco que te haga fan de la música electrónica si no eres fanático, y no convertirá a un fanático de la electrónica en música rock, pero, como fanático de los dos estilos creo que lo que hace tan deliciosamente es unir a esos dos estilos como pocos lo han hecho y dando un disco que ambos tipos de personas pueden disfrutar. Disco notablemente extraño e igualmente hermoso.

Started off thinking it could be interesting and quirky but the singing quickly got annoying

Death in Vegas’ “The Contino Sessions” is very much up my alley. I love the sexy attitude here, with its driving beats, sultry basslines, rich synths, inventive sampling, etc that create a hypnotic atmosphere. The list of collaborators on this album is incredible - Iggy Pop, Andrew Weatherall, Bobby Gillespie, and more feature on this album which I was very happy about. This album reminds me a little of some trip hop records that have also come out from the U.K., like Massive Attack, Tricky, etc. The U.K. has a staggering amount of great electronic artists that hail from their country, and “The Contino Sessions” is yet another example of their excellence. I had a great time with this one! Too many standout tracks to name - I keep replaying “Aisha (Nightclubbing)”, such an awesome track. The “Nightclubbing” part of the title must be a reference to Iggy’s song “Nightclubbing” from his album “The Idiot”, which is also a great song. I’ll be revisiting this album a ton!

Absolute banger. Was closer to 4 than 5 but listened to aisha again. Such a good song.

Surprisingly awesome!

Switch this review around with Bad Brains, I got a bad brain. I guess since I can't remember much of this, that makes it mediocre? Bad Brains, 2. Contino Sessions, 5.

This album is more interesting to me than many of its contemporaries in the genre. The incorporation of acoustic instruments really adds depth.

pretty good for electronic

Back in 1999, I was all about the 90s rave and dance music scene when this album was released. Music magazines were raving about it, but I didn’t know anyone who really connected with it. I remember skimming through it at a record store, not quite getting it, and passing it up. Years later, I gave it another shot, and it totally clicked. The mix of trip-hop, breakbeats, neo-psychedelia, rock, post-punk, and a touch of gothic vibes is so unique. The album’s biggest struggle was probably finding its audience, it was too electronic for rock fans, too raw and gritty for the club scene. It’s this strange, cool record that didn’t quite fit anywhere.

Pleasantly surprised by this album. Very simple, but reminds me of a proto-lofi sound with great use of distortion and buildup. Definitely feel like some of the songs overstay their welcome and songs with vocals are below the instrumentals, but a really solid listen. Top tracks: Dirge, Aisha, Lever Street

Eclectic but still somewhat coherent album, rich and full sound. My kind of music! 4.3

I'm really surprised by the album. I may have heard of the band before. I'm not sure about that. But I didn't know the music before. Contrary to a large number of reviews, I like the music very much. Perhaps it is a little too repetitive. In any case, it was fun to listen to the album. I think I will listen to it again. 4/5

Great opening song, perfect blend of electronica and soft rock. Like someone rightly pointed out - a really good blend of 90s and 2000s, just in time for new millenium. Other songs on the album keep the same convention, but I didn't notice anything as good as Dirge. Overall a good record, something to keep in the back of your head for a moody evening.

Nice.

Excellent album … with added Iggy Pop (What more do you want? … he’s vibrating!!)

My first thought when I saw this was 'What the hell is this?' and then I saw I had Aladdin's Story saved in my liked songs. Whatever my expectations were for this album were immediately dashed when Dirge came on and I was very intrigued with what I heard. Some songs on here are a miss, Aisha looks to be the big track on here but I didn't care for it at all, Neptune city feels a bit out of place compared to the rest of the album. Apart from those two, I loved every song on this album. Death Threat feels like it would be a looping music track in an edgy 2000s action flash game on Newgrounds, Flying is the peak of the album for me. The first four tracks on this album really grabbed me in a way that not many albums have on this list. Highlights: Dirge, Death Threat, Flying, Lever Street, Aladdin's Story, Broken Little Sister

Had never heard of these guys - really enjoyed this album. Great background music too. Solid. I'll say 3.5 -round up to 4.

That was actually quite decent! Very shoegazey 4/5

Definitely just found another album where we have completely different opinions. The album was far from perfect, but I enjoyed it a lot. Dirge was an absolute banger. In fact I felt most of their purely instrumental songs were bangers, and the songs where they attempted lyrics were my least favourite.

Goth electro? This is dark and forboding music - any of these songs could be used for a soundtrack to a gritty movie. Guitars buzz, Iggy Pop mumbles about serial killers, basses rumble and I get to feel all uneasy. A really great listen. Best Tracks: Dirge; Soul Auctioneer; Aisha

I enjoyed this but I'm also not sure why it's here

che copertina e che album cunty ragazzi 💋

Good strengrh quality trip hop, adresses all your grooving needs whilst dealing with those hard to reach ideas. Served from a standard tin of bass l. lovely with a plate of chips and a beer!

Even without Bobby Gillespie this sounds like Vanishing Point/Extrmntr-era Primal Scream, but that's not a bad thing at all.

Dark and stormy... it's quite the journey and much to navigate. (Oh hi Sam! 👋)

Highly enjoyable neo-pychedelic, electronic, shoegaze album, it was my first listen and I already love this album a lot.

An interesting album, I liked Siege and Lever Street the most.

This was brilliant. Will be listening to it again. There's a lot going on, big soundscapes, layers upon layers but it didn't become difficult to listen to. Impressed by the guest stars too. Not quite a 5, but chuffing close!

I kind of like this stuff. Top track is Aisha, I can't resist anything with Iggy's growl.

Noisy atmospheric shoegaze electronica.

i had never heard of this group or album before, but wow, what a great surprise. reminded me a few times of depeche mode’s 90s output mixed with trip hop of that time.

This was surprisingly good. Loved the Iggy Pop cameo in Aisha

I like late 90s/early 2000s electronica, but these 5min+ songs are just a little much unless it's on in the background. Thank goodness I realized during the original last track that the rest was bonus material. My rating would have been lower had I listened to 130min of this.

Did not know this one. Wonderful and dark production. Electronica meeting with Brit Rock influences. Sounds familiar and not at the same time. It's got that repetitive quality to it that caves you in but never gets boring. A discovery for sure.

Energy is strong and textures are interesting, sometimes striking. One likes the balance – and synergy (to use a '90s sort of word) between outright club music and '90s vintage alt rock The Reichian repetitions are perhaps the best – and artiest – feature but pay diminishing dividends as this goes on (and goes on a bit too long, it must be said). Still, there’s a considerable amount to like, and like slightly more than Massive Attack, say, though less than My Bloody Valentine. “Neptune City” and “Flying” were most compelling cuts, but everything is listenable and interesting, if a bit overdone at times and overlong, too, which was an occupational hazard for ‘90s acts, for course. One also feels that the plethora of remixes aren’t beneficial, on the whole.

I thought this would be a lot worse based off of the reviews, but it honestly isn't that bad. I think this is one of the better electronic albums on this list. It's a lot more interesting than that Shaman (or whatever they were called) album. Very unique beats and instrumentation. Low 4.

Ahora es un sonido al que estamos acostumbrados pero cuando el disco salió fue muy rompedor. Me quedo con la de Bobby Gillespie

Chill and good electronic music

Always been a fan of Death in Vegas, ever since the Animatrix soundtrack - I don't feel that this is their best album (I would have put Dead Elvis on the list personally), but their 'not so food's is still pretty great trip hop all told :) Will definitely listen again, as I have many times before in the past!

Never heard this before. I don't love everything on the album, but as I listened through I appreciated it more. The best songs are at the end and remind me of Jean Michel Jarre.

I'm sorry. I like it.