Somehow, brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll seem to find themselves constantly pulled back into orbit of each other. Over the course of their three decade long career as British electronic music duo Orbital, they have broken up twice. Their most recent comeback, following a three year hiatus, has been going strong since 2017. Monsters Exist, their 2018 LP, solidified the return of Orbital proper, and after a stint soundtracking a series for Mike Meyers, the second album of their third chapter is upon us.
Optical Delusion, the duo’s tenth album overall, is a bit of a mixed bag. Across ten tracks, they surge through their signature styles of 90’s trance and techno, through drum’n’bass and frigid synthpop, and even experiment with trap and hyperpop. It’s a vast sonic palette that reflects three decades of work in electronic music, particularly for a group who’ve never been afraid to experiment with style. But while Optical Delusion is at times potent, there’s a certain lack of edge to this album that makes it feel more accessible than one might expect from underground stalwarts. Perhaps part of the reason for this is the bevvy of guest vocalists Orbital invite onto the album, turning the vast majority of Optical Delusion’s tracks toward dance pop territory. Are You Alive, featuring the softly sung vocals of Penelope Isles, is a gentle synthpop lullaby that recalls early Röyksopp. Home, a melodic deep house track, uses Anna B Savage to her full potential, but at times her dramatic performance feels at odds with the track’s motorik pulse. It stands in contrast to Dina Ipavic’s similarly operatic take on Day One, which is more successfully weaved into Orbital’s retro-trance soundscape.
Download and stream Optical Delusion here
While the instrumental tracks on the album fare better, there’s a dissonance here that’s unavoidable. New work from legacy producers often falls into the trap of the production sounding a touch dated, as is the case with recent work from William Orbit and Soft Cell, and Optical Delusion doesn’t avoid this issue. The pads and synths on the dubstep leaning You Are The Frequency is one case in point, but the problem is perhaps most glaring on What A Surprise. This track, featuring The Little Pest, sees Orbital experiment with trap and bass-heavy grime, though the quality of the sounds they create in this contemporary style doesn’t feel quite right. There are moments where this retro aesthetic works in their favour, in particular on the aggressive Dirty Rat featuring the thick cockney accented rapping of Sleaford Mods’s Jason Williamson. Opening track Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song), which features a ghostly sample of the Plague time nursery rhyme ‘ringa ringa rosies’ for the Covid-19 era, also works in this throwback 90’s trance style. It’s when attempting to blend this sound with more modern ideas that Orbital don’t quite stick the landing, though there’s no denying that these tracks are impeccably crafted. Optical Delusion is the sort of late career body of work that will likely satisfy longtime fans of the duo, though winning over a contemporary audience with this album might prove more challenging.
Listen to Ringa Ringa (Old Pandemic Folk Song) from Optical Delusion below.
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