album: Mess
release date: 1996
label: pork recordings
tags: downtempo
soothing rhombus
1. The Last of the Red Hot Brethren / 2. Big Saddle / 3. Space Hearse / 4. Half Man Half Granary Thorax / 5. But Momma / 6. Laying Down the Law on the Lard / 7. Wavy Gravy / 8. Soft Music Under Stars / 9. Hairy Insides / 10. Dp's r Us / 11. On Yer Haunches / 12. Howard Dan Ryan / 13. Blood / 14. Return of the Red Hot Brethren
Early downtempo artists are probably the most interesting for me - back then, they were looking for that sound and, once they found them, most of them got eventually trapped and stopped being interesting for critics who hate "muzak"-ish approaches... but the authenticity and the appetite for experimenting of the likes of Fila Brazillia should get a lot more credit. Sure, this album is not exactly as wild as the album before it, Maim That Tune, but it still has a few great songs, especially Soft Music Under Stars which actually leaves you gazing at the stars... Fila Brazillia have a sense of magic that is rarely found, and unfortunately most musicians who delved into downtempo never tried to experiment with the recipe for which some efforts were consumed - I mean, most of you laugh when you think of Cafe del Mar, but come to think the numerous abstract cuts that were on the first volume, and of all the names like Underworld, Leftfield and even Penguin Cafe Orchestra...
