Various Reviewed
Various
The World Is Gone
(XL)
At IE we joke the most popular band in the area is TBA, and the most prolific recording outfit is Various Artists. Well, a couple of Brit wanks have grabbed half of the latter moniker and have decided to test our patience.
The World Is Gone is the first high-profile U.S. release of U.K. subgenre “dubstep,” a combination of dub reggae, grime, trip-hop, and Anglofolk. Not nearly as wild as it sounds, Various prowl the night with cat-burglar agility (“Circle Of Sorrow”) and haunting allusions to either Fairport Convention or Lord Of The Rings (see “Sir”), take your pick. On Various’ virgin sojourn to the bar for a drink, “Thunnk” rubs against Houston hip-hop (copyright police should play it back-to-back with Chamillionaire’s “Ridin'”) and lifts its wallet, eventually depositing ghostly dancehall atmospherics into a stripped industrial yard on “Don’t Ask.” Despite the immaculate production and flashy name for the style, however, The World Is Gone at its most exciting is merely a rehash of what Massive Attack, Tricky, Lamb, and Portishead were doing eight-to-10 years ago. “Deadman” has hints of KMFDM for variation and “Hater” dirties itself in grime, but mostly this is an impressive replica. “Various” is right.
— Kevin Keegan
