If you like your jazzy, soulful, downtempo vibes on the ambient side then this is definitely the CD for you. Released on the German label Sonar Kollektiv, it’s a masterful sonic landscape, of the kind Brian Eno used to make before he became one of the greatest producers the world has ever known.

1. Junkyard Gods
2. Queen of Crows
3. Go
4. Shadowlands
5. Dead Afternoons
6. Flags & Words
7. Wake Me 5.30
8. Paper Planes
9. Lights On a Satellite

‘2 Banks of 4’ are Londoners (gawd bless ‘em!) Robert Gallagher a.k.a. Earl Zinger and Dilip Harris a.k.a. Demus. Zinger used to be part of acid jazz/dance funkers Galliano, so introduction needed there.

‘Junkyard Gods’ also features the vocal stylings of another former Galliano member Valerie Etienne, who effortlessly shifts gears between dance diva and soul sensation on several tracks.

At times, it feels like free-form jazz with a variety of sounds being dropped in and out of the mix. This is a seriously complex set of jazz sounds , like the Eastern-fused ‘Lights On A Satellite’ and needs to be listened to several times over to get all the tiny nuances.

Even the faster, more uptempo tracks like ‘Paper Planes’ are well brilliantly, with a myriad of different effects. If you are expecting radio-friendly commercialism then you will be disappointed.

‘Junkyard Gods’ is a real grower. It really will take a couple of plays before you get into it and you really have to listen to what’s going on. But the more you hear it, the more you will appreciate the breath of what they have committed to record.

~ Jamie Hailstone

- - -
Originally released in Europe on Mar. 24, 2008

Add a Comment