Coming off the back of their recent collaborations with premier league music luminaries like Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour, ('Metallic Spheres'), and Lee 'Scratch' Perry, ('The Orbserver In The Star House'/'More Tales From The Orbservatory'), 'Moonbuilding 2703 AD' is Paterson and Fehlman back in full time Orb mode with an ominous-sounding project consisting of four lengthy outings based on a suitably Orb-ian sci-fi concept. Of course, anyone familiar with The Orb knows that such high-brow sounding concepts are thankfully delivered with a spoonful of sonic sugar.
Each of the four extended tracks work as standalone exercise, progressing from ambient washes to rhythmic workouts and back again, and then back again. The sound is typically dense but never overwrought with a wide sweep of styles and textures, The Orb being past masters at moulding a huge pool of raw material into a cohesive, listenable whole. So, forget the 'concept' and the track titles ('God's Mirrorball', 'Lunar Caves'…) this is The Orb proving that 25 plus years into a career they remain a relevant, inspiring, mischievous presence on the UK music scene.
Deep into the band's middle-age they excel at entertaining those who appreciate what they do, letting others worry about converting the unbelievers. Mind you, knowing The Orb, a punk album is probably just around the corner.
7/10
Words: Nick Annan
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