ACIEEEEEEEED! Sorry, couldn’t resist that. I mentioned with the Happy Mondays that they stood at the evolutionary divergence of the “Madchester” sound between the indie rock strands (as followed by The Stone Roses) and the acid house strand, as typified by this album (although arguably New Order fed some musical DNA into the mix).
This is largely instrumental electronic dance music of the acid house style – four-on-the-floor beats and the squelchy sounds (of the Roland TB303 apparently), designed for dancing. It’s an odd kind of music to just listen to, it just doesn’t seem right. More so than other electronica like the Seventies output that was largely created (like classical) to impart a mood, or sometimes a narrative, this kind of music is built around the beat, with effects thrown in to keep it fresh. And it was made for dancing.
Most famous on here is Pacific (aka Pacific State and Pacific 202) with its motif of a woodwind sound (almost Middle Eastern in tone) and what's always sounded to me like the twittering of jungle birds. And, frankly, if you’ve heard that you’ve kind of heard the whole album. But also, if you like that, you’ll like the whole album. However, absent lighting effects, a smoke machine, and a room full of sweaty ravers, it feels a little out of place, like freezing holiday makers who have just flown back into a rainy Heathrow Airport still dressed in their Ibiza clothes.
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