GTAForums Music in Review

[Wayfarer]

 

 

(This is actually my first album review ever made )

 

(click to enlarge)

 

Artist: Amon Tobin

Album: Foley Room

Release date: 2007

Genre: Breakbeat/Drum and Bass

Label: Ninja Tune

 

Although I know Amon Tobin since year 2000, when I first heard his track "Slowly", on some music channel, I really got into him in the late 2005. He quickly became one of my favorite musicians of all time. Some of his albums are better, some are worse, but there is no production of him that would be completely weak and uninteresting. Each of Tobin's albums is slightly different than the others. When I heard "Foley Room" is coming out soon, I got really excited. When I finally got it and listened to it, I decided that one day I'm gonna write a review.

 

The first thing that catches the eye when buying an album, is the cover. This one is similar to the cover designs of other Tobin's albums: there is some kind of weird, futuristic machine (or maybe a 3D render). The blur on it suggests it can be a photo of an old TV screen or something. This is somehow a sign of what we can expect on the album: lots of electronica and experimenting with sound.

 

"Foley Room" is Amon Tobin's sixth studio album. It is also his first album where he incorporates live, field recordings instead of old records or movie samples, like he used to do in the past. More live instruments can be heard, recorded without any modifications.

 

Now, the mini-reviews of each track:

1. Bloodstone: The opening track for the whole album, which can be treated in my opinion as lenghtened intro. The main part is a violin line performed by The Kronos Quartet. It creates an incredible atmosphere of real ethereal mystery. Somehow this track reminds me of French movies. (trailer)

 

2. Esther's: This is a big one. After a silent, calm beginning (an echoed piano) we can hear an ignition and the engine rumbling turning into a massive wall of bass kicks in. This can be almost compared with doom metal bands. Probably the most intense track on the whole album and the real beginning of a whole. (trailer)

 

3. Keep Your Distance: This one could make a good soundtrack for a modern spy movie. The atmosphere is filled with dark mystery, and with the complex drum patterns makes it even more dense. For some reason it makes me think about the Middle East.

 

4. The Killer's Vanilla: More relaxed and less mysterious track. It contains some nice rhode organs and violins. Some interesting drum patterns also appear, but there are moments of clarity in this track, where only the organs or the violins can be heard. And when you hear that, you want it to stay like this for as long as possible. Beautiful track.

 

5. Kitchen Sink: Now this one is completely different from all the other tracks on the album. As the name says, the main part is... the sound of water dripping into a kitchen sink. This is, along with the next track, the most experimental piece on "Foley Room". Melody can be barely heard, Tobin was strongly inspired by musique concrete (which is the earliest kind of electronic music btw). Very weird sonic experimentation.

 

6. Horsefish: Definitely the calmest track. And a pretty wierd one, because Amon Tobin decides not to incorporate his trademark dense sound patterns into it (I mean, there is a lot of sounds in this, but it's still a really few by his standards), leaving only the harp and an electric guitar as the two main elements. What is interesting, there is no single drum hit in this. A rhytm-free track.

 

7. Foley Room: Breaking, cutting, chopping, insanely intense drums, decomposing the melody and rhytm. A total collage of sounds, a musical mess. But what a pleasant mess!

 

8. Big Furry Head: I was thinking about the meaning of the track title (Amon Tobin is known for the weird names of his pieces, like "Rhino Jockey" or "Golfer vrs Boxer"), but I found a sound of a lion roaring in the song. So it's basically a song about a lion? It can be. Again, it sounds rather mysterious and the distinct harp sounds enhance the atmosphere.

 

9. Ever Falling: Begins with a nice piano part and some kind of choir. This is a rather optimistic (happy?) song, no darkness or mystery can be heard - everything is bright. Of course, there is some beat cutting and weird drum patterns, but the main part, filled with powerful bassA is just so damn catchy.

 

10. Always: Another happy track. Some people don't like these two tracks, because they got used to darker pieces by Amon Tobin. But I think it's a really cool tracks, filled with a vital bass line and some girl vocals. "Ever Falling" and "Always" are two moments of clarity in the whole album basically filled with mystery.

 

11. Straight Psyche: The longest piece on "Foley Room" is basically a chillout track. Tobin gives us a rest from the complex patterns (some beats appear of course, but they're not that complicated) and leaves with a simple melody filled with a nice fuzzy bass and some gentle guitars. Very relaxing track, perfect for a late evening (or a night).

 

12. At the End of the Day: This piece closes the whole album, so it should be somehow remembered by a listener. And it is. Thanks to the beautiful string line, it stays in the head for a long time. The whole album track (and an album) ends with the final notes of a melody played only by strings.

 

THE VERDICT:

Another really good album by Amon Tobin and the one that marks the change in his methods of work. I'm gonna give it 4 out of 5, because even if the songs are pretty well contructed and perfectly timed, some samples appearing there can be really annoying (like some munching sounds on "Horsefish", but I was always somehow sensitive for weird sounds). If the scale was 10, I'd give 8,5. The guy can build some nice darkness and mystery through his tracks. I think even non-electronica fans should check this out.

 

 

Links:

Official Amon Tobin Website

Amon Tobin Myspace

Amon Tobin @ Ninja Tune

[-shaDow]

Yeah good album, one of my favorites of '07 so far.

 

Heard any Tobin besides this one?

[Rob.]

The Kronos Quartet (Check out: "Summer: Summer Overture") wins in my book, they did the soundtrack to "Requiem For a Dream", you must check that out, it's awesome.

 

Some of Tobin's best stuff in my opinion was the music he did for the levels in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, it was what made that game so special to me.

 

If you can check out another track, check out "Lighthouse" from the Splinter Cell OST.

 

Other good tracks are;

 

"Like Regular Chickens (Dillinja Remix)"

"Cujo- superstars of rock - Apol"

 

Both are awesome tracks.

 

I'll need to find this album next time i'm in the City.

[Wayfarer]

Yeah good album, one of my favorites of '07 so far.

 

Heard any Tobin besides this one?

Yeah, I've got all his studio albums + Splinter Cell soundtrack.

 

I still don't have Solid Steel Presents Amon Tobin: Recorded Live and Verbal Remixes & Collaborations, however.

 

In my personal ranking, Foley Room is on the 2nd place right after Supermodified. Permutation is the 3rd.