Iâm back! And so are Orbital. For whatever reason, Orbital 2.0 were only a thing for about 10 minutes, in which time they pushed out Wonky and, er, Pusher, a soundtrack I havenât heard for a film I havenât seen. They then said âfuck itâ in late 2014. Breakup 2.0 lasted five seconds and then they announced shows in 2017 and started lobbing singles out again. Orbital 3.0 are, as of this writing, still a thing.
And so Monsters Exist. I admit I had some high hopes for this one - the John Greenwood album cover was incredibly exciting and probably brought with it some expectations the album just couldnât meet overall - his previous two covers adorn the absolute zenith of Orbitalâs back catalogue, and Monsters Exist, while not being remotely the nadir, just isnât on the same level. Either way, we start off pretty strong. The title track does what it says on the tin with its seismic bass stabs as it struts unimpeded through the city limits and surveys the kingdom of ants before it like an impassive kaiju god. Hoo Hoo Ha Ha follows with a nasty glitch glam stomp and itâs weirdly reminiscent of of an OG Playstation-era rhythm game with a faulty disc. I donât hate it, I just question its reason for inclusion. Fortunately, The Raid is next and its live drums and witch coven at a black sabbath panting and groaning really set it out as something new from the Hartnolls. Itâs very soundtrack/end of credits to a modern Hammer Horror feel where the badguy is, er, Population Density. I think.
Oh, hello P.H.U.K. Having a bit of an identity crisis I see? Itâs ok, so are we all. I actually think it has been given a bit of a bad rap in this thread as itâs pretty experimental for Orbital and it really does come into its own in the second half as they manage to bring the two disparate parts of the track together for something pretty euphoric before ending it all with an electro tweakout. Tiny Foldable Cities continues with the tweaky electro feel but itâs like proper Orbital, no gimmicks, just a well crafted bit of music. Buried Deep Within continues in this vein, as does Vision OnE - these arenât tracks that are going to bother any best-ofs but theyâre solid, enjoyable, Orbital meatânâtatties tracks.
The End Is Nigh is a sort of weird paean to Black Cherry-era Goldfrapp that doesnât actually have Alison on it (I donât think thatâs her). I really dig the Alan Wilder/Recoil style opening and overall I feel itâs a great track that could have been even greater if it actually had Alison on it. There Will Come A Time (feat. Prof. Brian Cox) is our ending, and itâs wilfully odd even for Orbital. Coxâs gentle manchester accent guides us through the concept of existence⌠no longer existing and itâs like theyâve been listening to Lemon Jellyâs Page One - âNothing!â and playing Everything, taking note of the snippets of Alan Watts lectures that play throughout that game. Itâs utterly bizarre and not a little beguiling; and itâs certainly not something youâd have expected.
But thatâs not all!
Yup, Monsters Exist comes with another disc, and this time itâs actually completely relevant to the preceeding one (unlike The Altogether) so weâre (I am) going to talk a little about it. At first I genuinely preferred it to the album proper. Itâs a peculiar remix-demo-rework of most of the album complete with new track titles, some of which work a bit better, some of which donât. Kaiju is the computer game version of Monsters Exist and just as enjoyable. A Long Way From Home is a beautiful Peter Broderick style acoustic reinterpretation of There Will Come A Time, complete with a gentle hiss and vinyl crackles. Itâs just gorgeous and I wish it lasted a lot longer. Fun With The System is a pleasurable early sketch without a novelty lead - more Wonky than Altogether. Dressing Up In Other Peopleâs Clothes and To Dream Again are similar - theyâre not all there but maybe thatâs a good thing. Iâm quite a âhow the sausage gets madeâ sort of person and I really love hearing how music develops, and the second disc of Monsters Exist does just that for me. I donât think it can stand up on its own, though.
But thatâs still not all!
HMV buyers got a fuckin third disc (was not happy when I found out after I bought the album direct from the Hartnollâs own shop) and the digital download version comes with another 4 tracks, the most important of which is the mighty Copenhagen, which slips comfortably into a best of Orbital list. Is it part of Monsters Exist? It arguably should have made it on to the album proper; thereâs certainly room - but I suspect it was ousted for There Will Come A Time, the Hartnolls opting for a bleaker, more philosophical ending than Copenhagenâs wide-eyed best-night-of-your-life euphoria. So how does that make me feel? Kind of annoyed, if Iâm being honest.
And⌠thatâs all.
Cheers for reading if you got this far. This thread has been a blast to read and these reviews/listenathons have been fun to write. Thanks to all the other players and thanks a lot, @UncleRetrospective - canât wait for The Cure Club!