6th Sense Approach

"Relax 2000" (Album, 1997)

Reload

This was an impulse purchase, the decision a combination of bargain basement price and a terrific sleeve design depicting a man floating in a ludicrouis flying suit. Not a remix album of the Frankie Goes To Hollywood song (you'll be pleased to hear) but minimalist and ever so slightly dubby trance out of Belgium. Good song titles (in memory, agitated sleep, humans) do little to disguise the fact that despite the the imaginative noises popping up all over, there just aren't enough strong compositional ideas to hold them all together.

The housey vibe of aquatic invasion and its up-front drums mark it out as one of the strongest of the ten instrumentals here but at eight minutes it soon outstays its welcome. In memory is also a contender. Kraftwerkian beats don't help u rise above its amatuerish origins and humans starts off going nowhere and continues in a similar direction for the remainder. The final 6th sense features a female vocal which might help it get radio play but it's just as directionless as the rest of it. Good sleeve though.  3/10

Rob Dyer