Listening Tree

Average Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

Customer Reviews

This customer rated: 5 (out of 5)

19 September 2009

"More than likely the most important electronica release this year"

I first heard about Tim Exile a couple of days ago, as he has made an effects processor for none other than Native Instruments. So I thought I would check some of his stuff out. This album is simply breath taking. Production is good. The songs are just simply stunning. Very experimental ideas, with the odd more electro-pop number. Family Galaxy is awesome, it has so many shifts of time and feel and key, which even the most hardened critic of electronic music would be impressed by. It is beautiful, unnerving, scary and amazing all at the same time! This is definately worth a listen, buy it!

This customer rated: 5 (out of 5)

11 April 2009

"Far Out"

I really liked Exile's Pro-agonist, but was ill prepared for the awesomeness of Listening Tree. In particular, "Family Galaxy" blew me away on first listen and continues to do so. It has rhythms that shift and overlap like tectonic plates, lyrics that sound like they were beamed in from the mother ship and the melodies almost sound as if Syd Barratt at his most unpredictable decided to get into electronica. Its original, beautiful and I wish more songs had this kind of impact on me. Sounds hyperbolic I know, but it's one of the best songs I've heard in years. The rest of the album isn't quite as mindblowing, but still really good. "Dont think that we're one" is an ace opener, catchy modern electro with some nicely cold lyrics. The production is immaculate as expected with lots of detail and depth. There's no weak tracks, though "Fortress" might be a bit too goth for some folks and his voice sometimes sounding like Depeche Mode might not work for everyone, but hey it works for me. Anyway, basically its a brilliant album and worth buying for Family Galaxy alone.

This customer rated: 3 (out of 5)

01 March 2009

"Falls somewhere between experimental and conventional"

"Listening Tree" sounds a bit like a collaboration between Squarepusher and Depeche Mode. It's worth noting that this actually appears to be a joint release between the Warp and Planet Mu labels and as such, it does in places exhibit the latter label's tendency to sound a little over-bearing at times. A quick check on the internet reveals that Mr Exile is in fact a classically trained violinist, and in a recent interview he admits that he's never been in a record shop! Figures. This is very much English electronica from a boy and his expensive toys. Burial it ain't. However, there's a lot of variation here which manages to hold the listener's interest throughout its 50 min+ duration - from the almost pop "Don't Think We're One" (the album's opener and best track) and "Fortress" to the more Aphex-esque "When Every Day's a Number". Both melody and rhythm are cleverly deployed throughout, challenging the listener without alienating him - always a difficult trick to pull off. The LP also stands repeated listens very well. The wifi-ed-up, Mac-using Nathan Barley types down at your local art-boozer will love this. For me though, this falls into the category of: OK/shows some promise. Warp's return to breaks, bleeps and bass (as heralded by their other three releases of 2009 so far) put on hold for now.