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FAITHLESS
NO ROOTS
ALBUM
CHEEKY, BMG RELEASE: JUNE
9, 2004 REVIEW: JUNE 8,
2004
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So
here is the latest release by Faithless,
pioneers of some of the most danceable
music of the hedonistic nineties.
What can they offer us in these troubled
times?
To start with – passion, natural
and traditional instrumentation fused
with the trademark Faithless drum
beat build ups to bassline line climaxes,
and socially-conscious lyrics. However,
the attention has gone to a more global
awareness of issues than seen on previous
cuts. Now the problems tackled are
not just based around the everyday
issues confronting nineties Britain
(seen so expertly on the classic track
‘I Want My Family Back’),
but on the state of play in these
paranoid times (most prominently on
the first single "Weapon of Mass
Destruction"). This feeling of
paranoia mixed with a touch of optimism
is interspersed throughout the album;
lyrically “…in these troubled
times…”, through samples
“everything will be alright
tomorrow”, and sonically apocalyptic
wooshes intersperse the tracks.
Don’t think everything is dark
in the Faithless camp these days,
though. There are still plenty of
up-tempo numbers on this album. Maxi
Jazz is still the lyrical master,
and this album shows thankfully he
is still on top form, while Sister
Bliss still manages to mix almost
effortlessly the melodies to the beats,
creating frothy cocktails of sound.
The
album simply flows; piano-led tracks
into beats, spoken word into instrumental,
crunching sounds into quiet. Just
like the calm and the storm, or just
like in these times – the fine
blurring between war and peace. There
is a lot of questioning here of human
values, soul searching – "what
about love?" being probably the
most telling refrain on this album,
and a suitable indication of where
this group are at circa the middle
of the Noughties.
So,
from dance act, through chart-placing
hit merchants to arena filling festival
gods, where can we place this latest
incarnation? They’re still making
music for your feet to move to, while
your head ponders over the words and
their connotations. So in other words,
Faithless are still Faithless. Just
a little bit more so.
MIKE
WHYTE
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