Labelled as ‘Disco Lento’, this modern take of new-romantic, slow disco and electro pop is a sickeningly stylish performance of what is quite a melodic piece.

Not in the habit of enjoying mainstream music, I’m silently, selfishly, hoping that there is no huge success to be granted, otherwise I will be deleting this post.

You can listen to them here:

http://www.myspace.com/ithurts

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ 

With 1929 black and white silent movie Man with a Movie Camera playing in the background and Cinematic Orchestra creating a unity of sound and vision, the magnificence of two distinct artforms clash to bring together a unique, unforgettable experience that only a tableau can replicate.

Orchestral, acoustic, epic – Cinematic Orchestra sit on top of a genre populated by few. A real experience.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ 

Well, he’s carrying the Orbital DNA for sure. This album is much more familiar to me, a die hard Orbital fan who’s followed their every direction since the 90’s, and keen listeners will see very obvious Orbital tell-tale signs, from the electronic synths to the mix of electro and vocals to excellent effect.

Musically, the style is different enough to not be labelled a solo Orbital act and I’m sure both Hartnoll’s are desperate to eradicate comparisons to their roots, but when there is obviously a distinct blood line to your heritage, it’s hard to avoid the labelling.

I’m still more fond of his instrumental works on this album but will still afford some patience for his departures. There’s a couple of tracks that are almost classic in nature, certainly acoustic and less electronic, I’ll say thanks, but just more of Patchwork Guilt please.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 

I was drawn to this album after obsessively following the Hospital Records podcasts.

We’ve taken a 200g of Nightmares on Wax, added a tablespoon of Latin House and mixed with a healthy portion of beginners drum and bass. You may be happy to listen to this playing quietly as background music, but as a supporter to a musical genre that should in essence force your feet to move uncontrollably, I wasn’t motivated.

It’s easy listening, but too bland to repeat playback with no real tracks that stand out.

Rating: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 

So for those who are looking for something to chew on after an Orbital drought, you may find a few things here that fill the void, but overall I felt the album is without identity, refusing to inherit any genre in the name of experimentation.

It almost feels as though they’re dipping their toes into the water and unable to commit to a style, so eclectic is this album. You have Electro pop, ambient, trance, techno, american garage emo, – it’s all here.

Lie Down is a beautiful voyage that hits all the right spots for me and is an oft listened track, as is Punky and as with a couple of other tracks, they both share Orbital DNA. Your Face, a strangely unfitting piece to this album that is out of harmony with the style of the surrounding tracks.

There are moments of greatness but are tainted by some of the more mainstream vocalised tracks which I feel are a little to Europop for the likes of what Orbital fans look for.

Still, we’re not looking for Orbital as this quite simply isn’t and as a experimental departure it hits some refreshing points. I’m bought.

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆