By 1992, Orbital's Hartnoll brothers had broken on the dance scene with a home cassette-deck recording (the immortal Chime) and released a solid first album. The second was produced with a new level of confidence and skill, from the introductory tape-phase looping of Worf from Star Trek TNG (introduced on their 'Green' debut) to the more fully-realised album coherence and buildup of each track's elements.
There's enough acid squelch on the likes of Remind and Lush 3-2 to link to Orbital's roots, but throughout the Brown Album lots of other details reward deep listening. The sitar colourings on Planet Of The Shapes, which also has a sample from Withnail & I synced in perfect rhythm; on Walk Now, the only time I've ever enjoyed listening to a didgeridoo.... it's an album offering great variety. My absolute favourite thing here is the 20 minute stretch that takes in the gradually-mutating Lush 3-1/3-2 and melodic highlight Impact (The Earth Is Burning), but the lovely Halcyon + On + On isn't far behind. A hugely recommended album to anyone wanting to hear a classic of 90s electronic music that continues to age well.
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See also at SGTG: Underworld - Everything, Everything / Polygon Window - Surfing On Sine Waves
