Everyday
The Band’s 1999 debut, Motion, was met to one of Ninja Tune’s strongest album responses to date, garnering places at the top of many alternative ‘best of year’ lists. Its sound – that of a ‘Jazz takes a holiday to break-beat heaven’ stylee, that stands well-apart from many of their label-mate’s comparatively weedy offerings (ninja being one of those collectives that could record the sound of someone shitting into a paper bag, and it would still have the trendies creaming their Calvin Kleins.
Everyday had built up many expectations in the long run up to its’ release: Would they suffer ‘follow-up album blues’? Would they attempt to throw themselves into a different style, and fall flat on their asses? Would they just record themselves shitting into paper bags?
The answer, thankfully, was no. The Cinematic’s second album appears, from many points of view, to be something so astoundingly pristine and moody that if Miles was still around to hear it, he’d be chewing his own ear off for not having thought of using all the different types of sampling that foes on in here. Each track is given space to breathe and develop to become songs of the highest decree.
The quality control guy may have relaxed his grip a little for the middle of the album – ‘Evolution’: don’t get me wrong, its good, but it feels frustratingly grounded in comparison to the others, and although ‘Man with the movie Camera’ is a brilliant, its beginning is a little questionable. But what do I know? Besides, these two tracks, as they are, add to a sort of ‘situation-conflict-resolution’ ethos of narration borrowed from any story I’d care to mention that would go well with their name, maybe. Maybe.
The guest appearances are spot-on: the fantastic Fontella Bass cooing and roaring her way through ‘All That You Give’ and ‘Evolution’ respectively. Meanwhile, one of the UK’s hip hop vanguard, Roots Manuva, delivers a perfectly-targeted performance on ‘All Things To All Men’.
I can’t wax lyrical enough about this album. You can use it as background music for whatever, or you can sit and attentively study it repeatedly, again and again. Just buy it, steal it, whatever you need to do.
9.3
MD 12:58 06/04/2003