ARCHIVE

"Lights" is slow to get going but I like the atmosphere. Drums kick in at 4 1/2 minutes as that repetitive keyboard melody continues. Guitar 8 minutes and vocals after 9 minutes reminding me of BAUER. Emotion. Great track. "Noise" kicks in with strummed guitar and vocals right away. A beat and atmosphere follows. It's an okay tune. "Bridge Scene" is melancholic with reserved vocals. It kicks in hard before 3 minutes. Back to that beat with vocals as contrasts continue. Good song. "Veins" is poppy and doesn't do much for me. "You Make Me Feel" is fairly heavy but it settles when the female vocals come in each time. Not bad.

"Fuck U" drops the F-bomb many, many times. This song reminds me a lot of THE CHURCH. "Black" has a repetitive rhythm with vocals throughout. "Sane" is a catchy tune with some vocal melodies. "Sit Back Down" has a heavy beat with organ as the vocals join in. Very well done. "Again" like the opening track is over 15 minutes in length and a slow burner. It does pick up after 5 1/2 minutes and we get some harmonica too. It continues to settle then pick back up. Excellent track. "Pulse" ends it and while I don't think much of the beginning of this one I do like when she sings that repetitive vocal melody over and over to the end.

Before I reviewed this I watched that video again and thought to myself how can I not give this 4 stars ? So I listened to the cd one more time, and while it hits some real highs several of these tracks are average at best. A hit and miss affair for yours truly.

Beggining as a trip-hop act, among many others in the prolific britsh scene back in the 90's, Archive took a radical shift from it's roots with the superb 2001 album "You look all the same to me" with a truly original blending of emotional prog (with quite a gilmourish accent) to the repetitive and chilling beats of trip-hop. From then on they worked on the same formula in the albums "Noise" and "Lights". This live record is a picture of that period since most of the songs came from those three albuns. The production is crystal clear and balances the mood of the crowd with a clockwork instrumental, even too much clockwork since there's no improvisations or different "colours" in the sound, it goes almost like the studio album with the audience support. If by one hand it don't really add much to their discography the vibe of the album is awesome, and the well chosen setlist balance perfectly the most mellow moments like "Veins" from the explosive anger of tracks like "Fuck U" . But the cherry on the top of this pie are the long songs "Again" and "lights", both trespassing 15 minutes of psychdelic highs and lows (the trip-hop beats really add a powerful mood to the album), although the band is listed as "crossover" there's a huge post-rockish feeling with a superb balance between mood and energy, like on the "Lights" track with it's 5 minutes of intro that are really hard to skip. A great live album wich fits for a car ride or pointless streetwalking, just relax and let the vibe take you far away. Higly recommended for Post-rock or psychedelic fans who aren't afraid of eletronic beats.

The song was "Bullets" and luckily there is the official video on their PA page.

Now that I have bought the download and I am satisfied enough to have relistened to bullets so much time I have given attention to the rest of the album.

Looking at the band's history on PA I hardly believe that he band comes from the trip-hop. Just the electronics in their sound can make me think so, but they sound less drones than Senmuth.

Highlights? All the songs are good, even if I like less when they leave the darkness behind like on "Clones" that's also the only track that can sound trip-hop in some parts (but that's a good track as well).

The already mentioned "Bullets" is still my fav, but "Collapse/Collide" and the title track are at the same level, just a bit less intriguing.

I'm grown with Floyd, Yes, Renaissance, ELP and Tangerine Dream on the "relaxing" side and with Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple and Zeppelin on the rock side so I'm very surprised of myself. How can I like an album on which there's are two rappers chattering like on "Bastardised Ink"? Probably because after all they are making music also there.

I took some time to understand and accept things like screaming and growling, sooner or later I'll understand talking, too.

Without the rap thing I would have rated this album the maximum, but I think that open minded proggers can tolerate some dark rapping in the middle of a good album, so I'm probably excessive but I give it 4 stars.

Dark electronics and hypnotic rhythms plus remarkably good vocalists.

If you don't believe me, look at the video on PA and let me know.

The feel is definitely not the one I would have expected. This is supposed to be a movie about car racing, and I can't feel any thrill, any speed, and any action in here. Just a couple of soft songs; well performed but not very convincing.

"Helicoptere" is quite Floydian (except the heavy finale) and is probably one of the best song available from this soundtrack. But there aren't that many out here. "Vaillant Theme" is still another one. An instrumental and delicate piece of music. But again, not really in line with all the fuzz of a car racing. Just a good musical moment.

After a chaotic and avoidable "Nothing", a more classic "Friend" is welcome. Some sort of a melancholic PT or even a "Beatles" tune. Melodic, sad and somewhat mellowish. The final result is not bad at all.

The more I listen to this album, the less interested I feel. I guess that a soundtrack is OK when you listen to it while watching the movie (with some noticeable exceptions like TD or KS). Even the genuine Floyd could not really captivate me with "More" nor "Obscured By Clouds".

At the end of the day (which is how I feel since it is quite late at night by now), two stars sounds the maximum rating available.

From a sweet acoustic start, we are being driven into a strong electric frenzy. A great achievement for sure!

Unfortunately, the next "Numb" is a total disaster and a step backwards into the direction of their debut which was quite hip-hop oriented. This one is actually an awful "dance" mix which is best avoided. Believe me!

The languishing and beautifully cold "Meon" is quite close from some Nordic bands. Quite well achieved, shall I say. The melancholic "Goodbye" provides a lot of emotions as well. A bit poppish but inspired. Another good song (three out of four so far) which is combined by the subtle and dramatically short "Now And Then".

The remaining part of the album is less appealing. The second epic "Finding It So Hard" is rather noisy and repetitive. It could have been cut by half to shorten this lengthy CD.

"You All Look The Same To Me" started very promising but falls a bit flat. Still, it is a good album overall. Three stars.

Archive's best album to date starts off with Again - a superb 16+ minutes track that shows that Archive decided to become the first band to mix trip hop with PF-rooted prog rock. The song is very emotional with great vocals by Walker, it really can give you goosebumps. Numb is a psychodelic track with some heavy guitars at the end. Meon is a dreamy ballad featuring female voices and Goodbye sounds like a lullaby. I consider the next two short tracks to be the introduction to the great Finding it so hard - this is a very intensive and again very emotional song with some hard drumming. Fool is probably the most trip hop rooted song on this album, but I consider it to be one of the best. Hate is the weakest point of this album although I like the trumpet. Need is a short, yet very beautiful acoustic ballad. A perfect ending toa magnificent album.

If you buy the wersion with the additional disc you'll get 4 tracks with such gems as Junkie Shuffle and Sham. Songs form The Absurd EP don't stand out form those on the album.

To me this is one of the most important albums of the last decade. It's definitly worth checking out.

I am not going to say say that their sophomore work is more proggy, but at least the female vocals, a more rocking angle at times, the melodies of some songs ("You Make Feel") and some fine ballads ("Brother" or "Pain Gets Worse" although the latter sounds childish and mellowish) are much more pleasant than what was available on their debut.

At times, the sound is a bit "garage oriented like during the weak ("Way You Love Me"). There are also some similarities with the band "Garbage" (which I liked very much) during "Well Known Sinner". Their characteristic heavy sound combined with lighter passages is quite well imitated.

Some cold melancholic mood with "Cloud In The Sky". The mellotron provides some Scandinavian flavour which I like very much. But so far, most of the songs are ballad-oriented and a bit more dynamism would have been welcome.

The last three numbers of this album are quite average (especially the instrumental "Love In Summer"). Globally I rate this album with two stars. But this is a serious improvement in comparison with their debut. If you like a softer version of "Garbage", you might well give a try.

It starts of with Pills - a dynamic song sung by Maria Q, nex one - Lines is I believe the first time in bands history when Pollard, Rosko and Dave are singing together. The effect is amazing! The Empty Bottle is much calmer and intimate song with only Dave's voice. Remove is a simple yet catchy song by Pollard. Come On Get High is a heart-grabbing ballad again with Polladr's voice. Thought Conditiong is simply a rap song featuring Rosko. The Feeling Of Losing Everything is what I belive one of the most beautiful ballads ever made - pure beauty captured in simple notes. From the other tracks only Pictures is more dynamic than the rest.

4 stars. A very solid follow up to a magnificent album - this is quality music!