2350.org - Move D/Namlook VII

This is the seventh Move D/Namlook collaboration and certainly one of their most worthwhile. Whilst it can't be described as a radical departure (plenty of signature sounds) it's sufficiently fresh and technically polished - as we've come to expect from Namlook & Co these days. Bad Hair Day is a mid tempo piece with pleasing melody and jazzy undertone but, not too heavy on the old 'cheese' ... I guess this is the sort of thing these guys can do with their eyes closed now. Nanotube starts in an industrial fashion, quickly mellows into a warm ambient mood that shimmers on top of a lightweight rhythm, then introduces a languid melody. The overall effect is of something which is highly improvised yet, its dream-like quality sucks you in. The closing section slows r-i-g-h-t down, almost as if our protagonists are falling asleep ... I enjoyed this track a lot. Flexdollars picks up the pace considerably, lots of electro beats but (thankfully) not 'in yer face' and halfway through things start to soar very nicely. I think I mentioned this on the Faxlist earlier but, there's a sort of Atom Heart feel, circa 94 period, to this track and other parts of the disc. Again, I really liked this track. Initially sounding like something rather strange, Arm Candy eventually emerges as a close relative of Kisy Loa from Moufang's earlier IF project; groovy and hypnotic, try not nodding along to this one ... it ain't easy! Several layers are added (including another languid melody) then stripped away again, leaving something quite minimal, classic stuff. It's good that Fax are putting out releases of this length again; this one clocks in at just under 70 minutes with six tracks all of decent length. Mouse Potatoes sounds very much like something from theMike Ink stable, which is no bad thing in my book. Okay, so there's a touch of the slow build = repetition factor but, I can think of a lot worse ways to pass 15 minutes. The closer is Detox and I'll admit this one can be a little annoying if you've got even the hint of a headache coming on, with its mid-pitch drone rather too forward in the mix for my liking. However, there is also some interesting 'acoustic piano' work buried amongst this collection of more experimental sounds but, ultimately, the jury remains out on this particular track I'm afraid. In conclusion, Home Shopping doesn't polish the Move D/Namlook crown as impressively as Wired did and I still prefer A Day In The Live for its sheer funkiness but, I'd happily award this release Bronze Medal ahead of the other four ... and the Koolfangs come to that. Nice artwork too.

(review by Paul Milligan)