★★★★★
The Middle of Nowhere allies the experimental sounds of its predecessor with feminine voices, thus generating a more melodic and lyrical techno-ambiant. The album opens with "Way Out", a space-age track following the musical path of "Space March" from the movie Moonraker already redone by, what a surprise, Leftfield & Propellerheads. Next, "Spare parts Express" is an extension of In Sides...
- www.plume-noire.com
2013-04-01
★★★★★
The first studio album in eight years from the veteran, influential UK production duo comprised of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll finds them tackling the euphoric, melodic, stadium-ready techno/house/rave beats that have made them one of only a few acts from the "electronica" movement of the 1990s to still sound relevant. Goth princess Zola Jesus appears on standout single "New France" while the title track features MC Lady Leshurr, quite possibly UK's equivalent to Azealia Banks.
- kexp.org
2012-08-20
★★★★★
The noughties were not Orbital's decade. By the time of their last pre-split album The Blue Album in 2004, the glory days of the rave scene which spawned the band were well over a decade ago. That record and its predecessor, 2001's The Altogether, served to alienate the Hartnoll brothers from their core audience who had moved on, the zeitgeist in electronic music turning away from the massive raves and festival headline slots, to more intimate, insular and somewhat darker terrain...
- www.noripcord.com
2012-07-26
★★★★★
Goto commentsLeave a commentShare Are They Here? Cutting to the chase, the world could have survived without another Orbital album, if only because it looked like the English electronica duo got out while the getting was good back in 2004. We thought the modest Blue Album and the tour surrounding it capped an acclaimed career for Paul and Phil Hartnoll. But oh, the calendar, it makes people weird: Five years later, they did the math and acknowledged their 20th anniversary...
- www.mxdwn.com
2012-05-17
★★★★★
In 1996 Orbital blew my tiny little indie-kid mind right out of the back of my head. I'd been tentatively making steps away from the boys-with-guitars hegemony of my friends' music taste for months, when pre-release press and encouragement from an older sibling led me to buy a copy of In Sides from the local Woolworths on release day...
- thequietus.com
2012-04-26
★★★★★
Summary: In forgetting how to age gracefully, Orbital run the risk of tarnishing their reputation even further It's trepidation that prefaces the exploration of Wonky, Orbital's first album post self-imposed retirement, and their only body of work since 2004's disastrous Blue Album...
- www.sputnikmusic.com
2012-04-12
★★★★★
For a while there, Orbital was done. DJing brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll admitted that their collective inspiration had run dry and that they weren't interested in wasting anyone's time if they just weren't into the Orbital thing anymore. Some artists take sabbaticals, but the silence of Orbital felt like it was going to be permanent...
- www.popmatters.com
2012-04-12
★★★★★
Summary: In forgetting how to age gracefully, Orbital run the risk of tarnishing their reputation even further It's trepidation that prefaces the exploration of Wonky, Orbital's first album post self-imposed retirement, and their only body of work since 2004's disastrous Blue Album...
- www.sputnikmusic.com
2012-04-09
★★★★★
Not that I'd go to Glastonbury but if there I'd walk straight passed festival fixtures Orbital to hunt out something a little more guitar orientated. That said, I've always had a soft spot for the Hartnoll brothers' musical exploits. Electronic dance music might not exactly be in my wheelhouse but like anything, when done well any genre can take hold in previously resistant territory...
- music.thedigitalfix.com
2012-04-09