APPLIANCE ARE YOU EARTHED? ALBUM MUTE, PLAYGROUND RELEASE: MARCH 10, 2003 REVIEW: MARCH 14, 2003

It's nice to hear a band mature towards an individual sound as steadily and surely as Appliance. There is nothing anonymous about James Brooks' singing anymore, and no problems involved in distinguishing songs from each other.
If Appliance was once contemplative and minimalist, it is now dreamy, often melancholy and at times unmistakably romantic. Though the album starts with two driving, funky pieces, I'm left at the end of the recording with the tenderness and longing of electronic torch songs like "Fruits of the Sea", "Mountains II" and "Boats". Themes of fluidity and water seem to be favourites of the band, featuring prominently here, as they did on my favourite track "H20" of their last album, "Imperial Metric". Answering the album title, nothing is earthed, but constantly flowing away, riding the waves, and passing like all things must.
"Are You Earthed?" is also more liberal with its musical influences than its predecessors, leaning somewhat towards British bands walking the line between rock and electronica; perhaps the calmer moments of Primal Scream a few years back and some Spiritualized can be glimpsed. But the comparisons are imperfect and unfair. At this moment, both those bands might have things to learn from Appliance.

MATTIAS HUSS