Quiet Village: Silent Movie
Thursday, 08 May 2008 07:50
Chilled out retrospective vibes from Quiet Village
!K7, out Monday, May 12th 2008.
In a nutshell...
Nothing new but not bad.
What's it all about?
The first full album to be released by Quiet Village, Silent Movie follows their work on remixes of artists ranging from Gorillaz to the Osmonds - and, to some extent, it shows. While barn-storming first efforts are rare, this one seems to draw inspiration from its forerunners, resulting in strangely familiar elements in a number of places and an overall sense that the unfamiliar parts are probably borrowed from elsewhere too.
However, Quiet Village freely admit to being inspired by a variety of different, yet very specific, musical sources. The BBC's music library is one such inspiration, while Italian cinema is another. Add disco edits into the mix and you're left, presumedly, with music that is more about presentation than originality.
Record label !K7 adds that a number of the tracks do represent a 'sly wink' as elements are consciously incorporated to raise the cheese level, rather than that happening by accident - suggesting that this band are fully aware of the risks they take.
Who's it by?
As mentioned above, Quiet Village are new in terms of album releases, but have previously taken on remix duties for a number of other performers. While it is easy to criticise acts such as the Osmonds, they are undoubtedly successful and are touring again - Quiet Village, it seems, have been in good company in the build-up to this first effort at a release of their own.
The timing may be on target too, as !K7 points out that this is a decade during which musical boundaries - including those between different genres - have blurred more than in the previous century.
As an example...
"So she dials the number/And the phone rings and rings and rings/And there is no answer/Now she gets just a little worried... " - Too High To Move
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
This is in with a shot. While the originality of the material may be questionable, it is well executed and it's nice to see Quiet Village get an album of their own, instead of remixing other people's work. An award - even of "also presented tonight... " obscurity - might not be out of the question.
What the others say
"I think I've mentioned a time or five how much I love the new Quiet Village LP, Silent Movie ... one of the year's best, without question." - Chris, Gorilla vs Bear
"No matter how much they might protest, this album is retro and it takes me right back to the late 90s. I totally love it." - The Daily Growl
So is it any good?
Here's the problem. It's not that Kinobe own the copyright to leading into a track with the sound of waves. It's just that now, when you hear that, you think of Slip Into Something More Comfortable. Quiet Village can call it inspiration, but that's really what results in new ideas - using other people's ideas isn't proper inspiration. But there's no denying that this album has the listenability factor, not to mention quite a variety of styles.
I suppose the question is, which is more important? Is "retro" enough to overcome "done before"? The answer in many cases is probably yes, especially if the early reviews elsewhere are anything to judge by - Silent Movie seems well received across the board. Don't hold out for anything too groundbreaking, but if the original Ministry of Sound Chillout Session still holds pride of place in your record collection, this could be the album to neatly bookend your decade.
6/10
Bob Bardsley
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