Various - The World Is Gone (XL)
2/5
By: Keri Kennedy
Not to be mistaken for a compilation LP, Various are a band - or, to be more precise and true to their name, a collective - who seem to have rewound to the last decade and created a studied homage to all things trip-hop. The mysterious, elusive central characters of Adam and Ian are joined by a host of (unnamed) guest vocalists on music impossible to pigeonhole with any more clarity than we've just attempted.
.
Yet one can get confused as to where 'The World Is Gone' is actually going - on one hand there's the echoing dub of 'Don't Ask', and then the sweet acoustic folk of 'Circle Of Sorrow', 'Deadman' and 'Fly'. 'Hater' however is full of minimal electronic beats with a vocal performance that's a dead ringer for Moloko's Roisin Murphy, while 'Thunnk' adds more grit and robotic vocals.
If Various emerged in 1996, 'The World Is Gone' would be heralded as groundbreaking. However, in 2006 it's difficult to listen without harking back to the heydays of Lamb, and naturally at times, genre figureheads Portishead. Whoever it is they're most reminiscent of, they're sadly either ten years too late, or on a nostalgia trip.
Artists in this article: Various, Various Acts, Various Artists
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment