Optical Delusion – Orbital – Released February 2023 – London Records / Orbital Recordings
Ireland hates Orbital apparently.
Not the Irish people I should point out. No, we love them as much as anybody, but the Hartnoll brothers claim they’re cursed whenever they come here.
It was certainly the case when my longest-suffering friend and myself went to see them at a festival in the Wicklow Mountains last summer. The event was plagued by power failures, and always at the worst possible moments.
Other acts, Bonobo in particular, had suffered previously so clearly it was the promoter’s fault, but poor ole Orbital got the worst of it.
The 30 Something album had just dropped and they opened the set with their new track Smiley, a perfect way to set the tone.
All was going well during the warmup phase of the performance, but later, every time when the music seemed to reach a crescendo, a power surge would knock out their gear, forcing them to reboot all their equipment and start the whole song again.
I counted seven or eight such instances of this in total, at one point hearing a raspy Dublin accent comment, “they musta bought their surge protectors in Aldi.”
But did they flinch? Hell no.
I believe it was Phil who decided to get on the mike and tell us tall tales about past experiences on Irish soil, when impish Celtic spirits decided to play mischief with their machines. Just a few seconds ago we were raving in a forest, now we were enjoying a comedy gig.
“…If you think this is bad, back in the 90s we had to do all this with floppy discs” – a huge cheer from somewhere near the front. Middle-aged spangled IT veterans perhaps? Whatever it was the mere mention of floppy discs had them whooping in delight. Well, that’s a festival first.
The odd thing was, although (through no fault of their own) the gig was a complete disaster from a technical standpoint (their finale was interrupted at least 3 times) the resulting banter was so hilarious it allowed them to form an even deeper bond with the crowd.
Normally, when technical issues affect a performance the default reaction is jeers and boos.
But with Orbital, the impossible happened, the fuckups made us love them even more.
Few acts in electronic music have that power, but then few have had such a profound effect on our generation’s collective consciousness.
Fewer still can convey such pure and utter joy through melody, or project such high feelings of togetherness from the stage. Which was what we’d all been craving.
Because you see, a new Orbital album isn’t just another bunch of tracks to listen to, it’s an event to be celebrated – especially after that shitty pandemic.
Together Once More
The opening track of this album has the warm and reassuring sensation of being reunited with old friends.
Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song) instantly evokes previous works. Those familiar chimey wimey vibes and disjointed Halcyon-style vocals over a steady breakbeat, as Out There Somewhere chords and fluttery arpeggios dance along the top.
This is Orbital at its most floaty and even just listening to it I feel as though I’m bunched up in a crowd, feeling random shoulders knocking back and forth as we all flounder about in a field someplace utterly transfixed.
After a while it dawns on me that the guest vocalist, Mediaeval Baebes, is singing ring a ringa rosey and the irony of the track name hits me like a ton of bricks.
See that’s another thing about Orbital, they’re always current and often political without necessarily being overtly so. They don’t preach, yet they never miss an opportunity to comment on the world and make their opinions clear.
And what a clever way to start the album too.
As if to yeah, let’s acknowledge that this fucked up thing happened, let’s address it head-on, but it’s over, and yeah, now we’re back together once more – plus we got some new material to share.
Genius.
On to track two, called Day One (feat. Dina Ipavic). It starts with a snappy four to the floor beat and some slightly detuned chords, then later some vocals that sound like they might have grown up in Belfast.
Only thing is, I’m not a huge fan of the lead synth sound on this one, it’s bit too much on the EDM spectrum for my liking, but still, it’s a decent track overall.
“Are You Alive?” features choppy tribal percussion and sweet-sounding vocals from Penelope Isles, gelling perfectly with the chord layers laid down by the Hartnolls.
Gotta say, this one has a really infectious chorus too, which would make it very radio friendly, if the lyrics didn’t preclude that possibility, but yeah, very poppy on top, but lots of depth underneath, I really like it.
All the Orbital hallmarks are there too, the ethereal vocals, the delicious chords and sublime melodic flourishes – quality.
You Are the Frequency is a wonky number with treated vocals and detuned synths, not a fan of this one tbh, despite the 303 added in the end.
The New Abnormal – now there’s an Orbital name if ever there was one. The beats too, very Orbital, and those chords… we’re back in very familiar territory with this one.
In fact, I’m pretty sure we got treated to a sneak preview of this one at the gig last summer.
It has a weird little melodic meander about for a while, as though trying to find its feet, then at the halfway mark slaps us in the chops with a nice phat Funky Drummer break – now the heads are nodding, faces are smiling …yeah I’m almost certain they played this one last summer.
Track six, Home (feat. Anna B Savage), this is an odd one because I like the track itself but I’m just not a fan of the vocalist, the tone and timbre of her voice is not to my taste at all, sorry Anna.
This issue is even more pronounced on the track Dirty Rat, which is irredeemably marred by the fact that it features the Sleaford Mods.
Seriously guys? What’s the deal with the Sleaford Mods? I’m noticing them showing up as guest vocalists on dance tracks a lot more lately and they do my fucking head in.
And I’m not alone here.
I guess they’re just one of those things, like pork scratchings or Greggs, if you’re English they’re the best thing ever, but for the rest of us they turn our stomach inside out.
I’ve got English mates who all think they’re great, but to the rest of us they kinda just sound like pisshead tourists hollering outside a kebab shop in Fuengirola at four am – skip!
…Ah, now we’re talkin!
The next track, Requiem for the Pre-Apocalypse, brings the junglist beats and gritty bass but there’s some eerie vocals in the background too.
Just as it gets going and feels like it’s found its stride the beat drops completely and the track changes melodic direction, which often happens with Orbital, the Hartnoll tug-of-war, I call it. But they always find a way to work it out in the end.
When the beats return, they do so quietly at first, but more and more layers are then heaped on top and effect is mesmerising, more levels of euphoria, gradually building up, reaching a crescendo before we’re back to the grittiness once more.
Then one last pause for breath before they go for one last emotional push at the end… gwaaaaaan!!!!
This is my favourite tracks of the album so far and I can’t wait to hear it live. 🙂
What a Surprise (feat. The Little Pest) comes no strong, throwing lots of things into the mix at the same time. It’s a strange clockwork universe full of distortion and confusion… where’s it going to go next?
Big fat bassline and trap beats is the answer… quite unexpected, though contemporary I guess. Meanwhile effected vocals dance around your ears, snippets of words here and there, but difficult to discern the full meaning… “I have been radicalised…”
Hell, who hasn’t these days. Fucking internet.
The album finishes with Moon Princess featuring Coppe, who’s a Japanese singer and so I guess is singing in Japanese? No clue tbh. There’s also another voice in the background saying, what I believe, is “find your own meaning”.
That’s exactly what I’m currently endeavoring to do as I write this, since it’s perhaps one of the weirdest tracks Orbital ever made, not the very weirdest obviously, but it’s certainly up there.
Find Your Own Meaning
The brothers Hartnoll have delivered once again.
It’s by no means the best Orbital album, though I certainly like it (minus the Sleaford Mods obviously) more than their last one.
Course with Orbital you should never judge their material until you’ve heard them jam it out live.
And actually that’s the best thing about them, really, how they improvise. I can’t think of any other electronic music artists with that innate ability, though I guess it’s because they’re two brothers who know each other so well, they know exactly how to vibe off one another. And of course, they know how to vibe off the crowd too. That’s what lets them get into the flow and that’s when the real magic happens.
Is Optical Delusion ever going to be on anyone’s list of top three Orbital albums? No.
Doesn’t matter though, it’s an Orbital album, that’s what matters.
Every Orbital album is a blessing, every Orbital gig a sacrament, just to know they’re still working together, recording together, touring together, that’s what truly matters.
The opening track was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the pandemic, a way to shrug it off while they once again get ready to embark on a tour to promote this album.
And I think that’s what the purpose of this album is, it’s not their hardest hitting, it’s merely a warmup album for all us aging ravers still slowly emerging from our government-mandated hibernation cycles and reacquainting ourselves with the joy that comes from large crowds.
Blending contemporary sounds with familiar ones, Optical Delusion provides reassurance, as if to say, don’t worry raver crew, we got this.
And then there’s the album’s parting words, “find your own meaning”, as good advice as any to give someone looking to find their way in the chaos of the 21st century. I hope you find yours.