Faithless
The Dance (PIAS)
Without a doubt Faithless have earned their place in history with a handful of bona fide classics.
Emerging in the mid 90s their emphasis on sophisticated full length LPs was refreshing in a scene dominated by hit tracks, while their fusion of different genres instilled with frontman Maxi Jazz’s own blend of Zen philosophy pushed club culture in a new direction.
In doing so Faithless may be partially responsible for the popularisation of the genre, attracting legions of mainstream listeners previously unfamiliar with dance music. 14 years since the release of their biggest hit they sit atop festival bills
around the world. Reuniting the original trio of Jazz, Rollo and Sister Bliss their sixth album is billed as a return to their dancefloor roots. Yet dribbling out the speakers comes one of the most half-baked and unimpressive records of the year.
Opener ‘Not Goin’ Home’ sets a pedestrian tone for the following hour or so. After nearly two decades
of making beats it feels as though the musical team of Rollo and Bliss have simply stopped trying.
Unremarkable sequences squelch along doing nothing in particular, pausing every couple of minutes to play either the euphoric or the ‘quiet reflection’ cards. As the bass drops and synths swell for the umpteenth time it’s hard to suppress the feeling that you know exactly what is going to happen next.
Their ‘back-to-basics’ approach seems to have turned up a bunch of moulding house B-sides from
1995, which, rather than “going for the jugular” as they so proudly proclaimed, just sound very dated.
Buddhist MC Maxi Jazz scales new heights of irritation, popping up to spout cod-spiritual bullplop like some shit Yoda; loved-up and gabbling away long after the party’s over. His new-age interpretation of the power of the rave wore thin some time ago, yet Jazz clings to his novelty piece even as his imagination evaporates and his rhymes get clunkier. Unintentionally this album seems to represent the aging of the group.
Light relief comes in the form of a fittingly drab array of guest vocalists: Dougy Mandagi of The
Temper Trap, Dido (“Thanks bro for keeping the royalties coming while my career dies”) and
Jonny ‘Itch’ Fox of The King Blues. The King Blues?!? Oh come on! Elder statesmen of dance music are still a fairly new prospect as the genre moves into it’s third decade as a major cultural force. Faithless are an excellent example of a successful group resting quite comfortably on their laurels, well meaning but completely out of touch with the times. (How depressing that these clichés pass on from generation to generation, genre to genre.) The world The Dance seems to inhabit has conveniently skipped out the last ten years of electronic music, and with it the leaps and bounds seen in technology, sonic experimentation and self awareness.
If this record serves any purpose it is to remind us how vital an energetic and fiercely cannibalistic scene is to the genre, and how far we have come in such a short time.
Sister Bliss of the group exclaims in the album’s press release: “Dance music has experienced such a
resurgence. We’re still a little leftfield and we still have something to say.” Er…The Dance is probably
the most conservative dance album I have ever heard; a first for me. At least the times are changing.
Jim Bevington
