CODE INDIGO

Uforia

AD Music Ltd (1999)

review by Dene Bebbington

Every now and again a piece of music comes along that really hits the spot; a piece which you want to play over and over again. The first track, "The Call," is one of those pieces for me - it is somewhat hypnotic and has a wonderful melody. I don't know if the album title is a play on the word euphoria, but this track comes across as musical euphoria. The main melody comes in several times separated by quieter interludes. Guitars, synths, vocals, and drum effects combine to make an inspired eleven minutes of music.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn't live up to its beginning, but is good on its own terms. A restful piano takes the lead through the second track, accompanied by some synth effects in the background. Then "SyncGate" quickens the pace a little with a melange track including some rhythmic and melodic elements. Again we find that vocals are used along with dialogue (taken from The X Files and elsewhere).

The next track starts of in a slightly dramatic style and then becomes very rhythmic, with a good and not over-the-top use of electronic guitar. Some kind of dialogue is present at times - presumably taken either from Sci-Fi or made up for the album. Using dialogue like this has become fairly prevalent in the world of electronic music, and it makes me wonder whether this has become more gratuitous than purposeful.

A musical montage is the penultimate track which is somewhat irritating and had my finger reaching for the next track button. Thankfully, the album closes with a better track; it doesn't have the same theme running through but is well structured with plenty of rhythms, but draws to a close quietly.

This is a very pleasing album, and one which shows a greater maturity from previous Code Indigo releases. For those not familiar with Code Indigo, it is a collaboration of several musicians including two well known ones from the AD label: David Wright and Robert Fox.