Paul's follow up to the hugely successful 'For a Knave' CD is certainly packaged very individually, with the opening lines of a curiously clever children's fantasy (which Paul wrote himself) dominating the cover. I think it works extremely well, indeed the cover and CD look refreshingly professional. Now for the music.'Waiting for a Miracle' is a superbly measured track. A magnificent opening melody gives way to an uptempo section punctuated with, what sounds like, heavily treated speech - although I believe it's nothing of the sort!. Enter searing MiniMoog and, yet again, some brilliant Sean Michael D'Lear guitar, and... well I could listen to this track all day. However, there are nine other tracks to sample. It will come as no surprise to those of you who have read my review of the 'Beyond the Quiet Point' cassette that I like 'Taken to a Place'. In fact I like it a lot. Wisely, Paul doesn't change a winning formula too much, simply redefining a track of classic beauty. 'Bloody Dangerous' features expertly positioned samples and a lead synth voice so raw that it sounds like it's just had is arse wiped before being served up on a plate. Perhaps at times the track harks back a little too much to 'For a Knave'. However, this may be intentional, for the rest of the track is so different that it showcases perfectly some very diverse talents.
'Time, the Magician' is another bright, uptempo outing which keeps the album in a holding pattern rather than really letting it loose. Enjoyable all the same with MiniMoog a-plenty and the radio broadcast ending, which segues into 'Death by Wireless', is pure brilliance.
'DBW' has already been showcased live, along with track 1, at the EMMA#1 festival and with its catchy melody and poised middle 8 it is sure to become a favourite.
As soon as the opening of '64K World' hits home you know this is going to be something special. Superb melody, strong rhythm, and some mind blowing noises combine to produce EM straight from the top drawer. 'Iceman' is a superbly constructed diversion to the album, the lack of drums emphasising an arpeggiating sequence contrasted with sweeping synth.
An extended opening riff introduces 'Overnight Snow' creating, I'm sure, very deliberate anticipation which is rewarded in the shape of a truly majestic track which again features some wonderful synth soloing. 'Closer Than You Think' has been brushed down, tweaked in one or two places, given a very different D'Lear guitar solo, and presented here sounding as fresh as ever. It's a thrilling track featuring some brilliant sequencer work.
'Silly Kind of Secret' ends the album perfectly, a very appealing and meticulously performed piece of quality EM to which Paul, very understandably, couldn't resist adding a few closing vocals. This album very much carries on where '...Knave' left off, showing an increasing maturity and mastery of the art of producing Electronic Music. Helped in no small part by superb sound quality, Paul has produced another truly dynamic album which simply demands to be listened to. Miss this one at your peril.
