EARTHBOUND
EARTHBOUND
DOUBLE ALBUM FLUID RELEASE: DECEMBER 1, 1999 REVIEW: DECEMBER 17, 1999


Swedish trance duo Earthbound make their album debut. If you live in Sweden or England you have probably heard at least one of their five singles. If not, you probably have heard Earthbound's "big brothers", Antiloop. They are very similar.
All single songs like "Essence of Life" and "One Nation - Trance Nation" are included on the album. But Earthbound want to show that they have more to offer than radio and dance songs. The album contains five more songs and even has a second disc. Here, the guys have included more typical trance tracks with a length of five to eight and a half minute. Four of them are remixes of disc one songs.
I usually get bored with trance music after a while and I definitely don't need two CD:s at once. Nevertheless, this music is nice on the dancefloor, in a car, in the Discman or even as background music at home.
Earthbound says that they want to show people an other version of techno than the standard hit list products. And sure, this hyper electronic instrumental soundscapes are cooler. Earthbound know what they are doing. They have been playing electronic music for many years and have collected a huge park of technology.
But Earthbound too are commercial. The singles suits the hit lists. A bit too much for my taste. I guess Earthbound wants the best of two worlds - both commercial success and underground respect. And they may very well achieve that.

MIKAEL KAHRLE