Archive: Review of Earthling's "Radar"

(Written on 20 July 2007, so sorry for it being so lame)

Artist: Earthling
Album: Radar
Year: 1995
Tags: trip-hop, hip-hop
Rating: 4 out of 5

One of the most popular movements in electronic music within the '90s period, trip-hop was inspired from hip-hop and house music, but the soundspaces were way beyond those classifications. Over the years, trip-hop spanned numerous artists and bands that established themselves as quality artists. Coming out of the same Bristol-based scene that delivered bands like Massive Attack and Portishead, Earthling have received critical and public acclaim at the moment with this debut LP back in 1995. Ever since then, they have re-entered obscurity. A bit shocking considering the quality of their album...

Combining menacing trip-hop beats like Massive Attack, an original rapper like Tricky and smooth female vocals a la Portishead isn't easy to do. However, the results are surprisingly good. manages to be pretty original without having too many copied ideas. Those who have enjoyed the dark, mellow atmosphere of trip-hop albums such as Tricky's RadarMaxinquaye or Massive Attack's Mezzanine will most likely enjoy Earthling's Radar.

The album kicks off with 1st Transmission, an extremely catchy intro tune about the nearly schizophrenic personality of the typical mid-'90s TV addict, whose mind contains everything from old to new, Nat King Cole to Harvey Keitel, Leonard Cohen to Juliette Binoche. Mau's intelligent free-association lyrics combined with the the addictive beats of Andy Keep & Co. convey efficiently the feelings of this character confronted with a severe personality crysis.

Ananda's Theme, the second track, is particularly remarkable for the lush sounds and smooth beats that create a feeling of addiction, also recalled by the lyrics: "I want it and I want more". Albeit too short, the song is pretty good overall.

As representative for the album as the previous songs, Nefisa contains, besides Mau's genius rhymes, few scratches courtesy of Portishead's Geoff Barrow that fit in well with the overall pessimistic atmosphere of the song.

I Still Love Albert Einstein is a song about a car accident, apparently. The song is very similar to Portishead's Biscuit song, as in use of male vocal samples and the dark, mellow atmosphere. Somewhat complementary as in samples and atmosphere is the next track, Accident at Injured Strings which is pretty good, but it's just an interlude that doesn't last as long as it would have deserved.

More similar to the concept of 1st Transmission than the previous tracks, Soup or No Soup is a very original and dark tune that makes very good use of Geoof Barrow's funky samples and scratches.

Even though it promises at the beginning some quality beats, God's Interlude fails to be more than what it is - a short, uninteresting experimental piece that only fits as an interlude. This track is probably the least strongest point of the album.

The 8th track, Echo on My Mind is a genius jazzy trip-hop track. Incorporating jazz, gospel and pop elements in addition to the trip-hop beats, this song is, without a doubt, a fascinating song albeit being a bit different from the hip-hop tone of the most of the songs on the album.

Speculating the jazzy mood of the previous track, Infinite M is a very enjoyable trip-hop tune that's slightly more optimistic than the other tracks and is somewhat similar to Massive Attack's Blue Lines song.

Planet of the Apes returns to the dark atmosphere, going deeper into the realm of jazz influences in the same time. The song has plenty of cinematographic references, like 1st Transmission and Soup or No Soup.

In Means Of Beams carries over the idea, this time with both female and male vocalists. The result sounds pretty much like Tricky's Pumpkin.

Freak Freakis by far the most impulsive and hip-hop influenced track on the album. Some might be put off by the explicit content, while others might love this song especially because of that.

In spite of the title, I Could Just Die is a relaxing tune with lazy beats and nice guitar riffs and samples, providing a satisfying ending title.

Captivating from the beginning to the last song, Radar is one of those obscure LPs that manage to be surprisingly good, making you wonder why they aren't as popular as they should be...

P.S. Initially, I wrote this review to give it to my friend who knows a journalist that could somewhat evaluate how high are my reviewing standards... I hope you liked it. :)