ORBITAL - BLUE ALBUM

You know, I never really liked Orbital. Back when I started college, a kid named Adam lived across the hall from me in the dorm, and he had a few Orbital albums. I borrowed them a few times, but never really understood the fascination with them.
So now, some ten years later, Orbital (known as Phil and Paul Hartnoll) releases what is to be their final album ever. Titled Blue Album, this is their bow out of Orbital. And of course it would take their final album to make me realize that I kind of like them.
Maybe I was just a little kid who didn\'t know shit about shit back then. Maybe I just needed to mature into liking this music. Or maybe their music matured into something I like. Maybe it\'s a bit of both.
Regardless, Blue Album is a solid, smooth \"techno\" disc, for lack of a more appropriate term. It\'s got its fair share of shake-yer-booty beats, of course. But it also has a nice mix of melodic piano work and sexy-soft sampling.
\"You Lot\" is an Eighties-esque electro-pop tune that sounds like everything from Styx to Moby. The jazzy and playful \"Bath Time\" is a synthesized gem, rolling over hills of keyboard and digital voices. And \"Acid Pants\" is a nice throwback to those rave days of old, pacifiers and all.
I\'m kind of bummed that it took their final album for me to appreciate Orbital. But I\'m glad I did finally learn to dig them, and think Blue Album is an appropriate last hurrah.