The Orb - Bicycles and Tricycles (Cooking Vinyl)

One thing’s for certain – a new Orb release is never a case of ‘same old same old’. Ten albums and 16 years after ‘A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre of the Ultraworld’ there is little whiff of ambient house – the genre The Orb pioneered – on Bicycles and Tricycles. They’ve evolved, something which some of the pretenders to the chill out throne would do well to try for themselves.

You need to persevere with Bicycles and Tricycles in places. Tracks like the Zion Train-esque ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ sound like filler on first listen but bear up well to repeat plays. ‘The Land of Green Ginger’ is the most traditionally Orb-like track, complete with odd sampled narration and synth sounds reminiscent of Paterson’s work with Sun Electric. It was first heard on Paterson’s Back To Mine compilation where it followed beautifully from Julie Cruise’s ‘Falling’. Elsewhere, ‘Aftermath’, with vocals from MC Shoom T, sounds like a welcome and long-overdue follow-up to ‘Perpetual Dawn’.

The most exciting part of this album is ‘From a Distance’ – the sound of Orb founder Alex Paterson getting back together with his original partner-in-crime Jimmy Cauty (who jumped ship in 1990 to form The KLF). This track has been unceremoniously panned in fan quarters but I love it. In fact I love it a little more for that very reason. I’m like that. If this is anything to go by, then pre-orders should be placed immediately for the pair’s forthcoming Custerd project.