All going quite well at the moment, ain’t it? That is, if you’re a sleazy politician, right-wing news commentator or you make weapons, you’re looking good, doing great. For the other 99.999% of people on the planet the state of things is pretty terrible, but here in Britain we can’t complain as protest is now outlawed, soon to be followed by striking, voting and expressing free speech.
Orbital are veterans who were around when illegal raves were a tool of anarchy as well as alternative lifestyles. Brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll first emerged with Chime in 1990 and even if that scene was dismantled by the Criminal Justice Act, their longevity is testament to seeking new generations of people who just love those repetitive beats.
Optical Delusion is their tenth album and follows 2022’s Thirty Something package of re-evaluated past work. The highly collaborative nature of that has given the duo fresh impetus and some perspective, with Sleaford Mods Jason Williamson applying some vocal barbed wire to Dirty Rat, a track which points both barrels at the sloping shoulderists who dominate Westminster.
Other team ups are just as fruitful, such as that with the hard working Anna B. Savage on the doomy Home, The Mediaeval Baebes giving a haunting refrain to the last modern plague on Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song) whilst studio mates Penelope Isles add shade to Are You Alive. So as you take your backhander, fly your private jet or pull the wings off some other virtual butterfly, Optical Delusion can be it’s soundtrack. The rest of us are listening too. And watching.
You can read a full review here
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The Voice Of Unreason 
You and I are of a similar political mind, Andy. And I love your description of Jason Williamson’s vocal contributions as “vocal barbed wire”. Great album btw, so thanks for introducing it to me.
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