Union Jack - Pylon Pigs

[Lemmiwinks]

 

1. Papillon

2. Submerge

3. Triclops

4. Longhorn

5. Mainlining

6. Blink

7. Lifeblood

8. Vowel

9. The Dark Major

10.Funnelweb

 

YES THEY'RE BACK!!! I don't think many people were expecting Union Jack to make a comeback and yet they did... well, kindof, cause the original group was made up of Claudio Giussani & Simon Berry, this time Giussani left and Paul Brogden took his place. But still, the old "Platipus sound" is pretty much there, FINALLY some artists that understood that if fans are crying for a legendary group comeback, they also want the legendary sound back, not just having an old name doing something new.

 

The album opener is Papillon, which brings back a LOT of memories: that oldschool Union Jack sound that everyone missed with the looped 303s, filtered voice samples that are used more as an instrument than as a voice, the slooooow progression and buildup, and even that odd bit that sounds a bit corny at first but then gradually starts making sense, it's all in there! My only regret is that there is no "singing" 303 lines, making the overall result sound a bit less "soulfull" than older stuff. Still, compared to most comebacks by legendary artists, this is the best result to date

 

Submerge up next, which is a (very) downtempo track, which stikes me as too new-ageish and overall boring, especially when compared to the opening track. NEXT!

 

Triclops comes after that, adding some livelyhood, although I don't really like this one. I guess it was their attempt to make a more modern sound, thus 303s are almost absent. Moreover, that main melody is a bit annoying to my ears so usually I skip this one as well.

 

Ahh luckily Longhorn is up next with some more of the oldschool sound. Just like Papillon, all those old elements are there, minus the "singing" 303s, still this is the track I like most here. I find this will get MANY spins in my CD player in the follwing months

 

Mainlining is again a downtempo track, which plays as some sort of musical journey on a steam train. The idea is original but still, there are too much new-ageish candy-coated melodies in there, which IMO are a bit annoying.

 

Blink is up next, a more modern progressive track, which kindof continues the "steam train" feeling from Mainlining, but which I also find a bit empty and unispired.

 

Lifeblood is a sort of interlude (hey it's been a while since I haven't heard interludes in an album ). It's some dark atmospheric ambient, definately something you would NOT expect from the group, but interesting nonetheless

 

Then Vowel comes up next, with more oldschool 303 loops, and also some jazzy progression, not unlike some goatrance from the late 90s. Some interesting typically sloooow buildups in there, although IMO this could've been much better.

 

The Dark Major is some more uptempo ambient, with a bit of bossa-nova feeling. Yep, The Girl From Ipanema came to my mind while listening to this... again, not really the kind of stuff you'd expect coming from these guys. Still, after some more listens it kindof starts making sense.

 

The closer is Funnelweb which is a nice blend of the old Union Jack sound, more modern progressive trance as well as some VERY old electronic music from the 80s sounds (Kraftwerk anyone? ). Again, like with most of their stuff, you have to give it a few listens before getting this...

 

THE GOOD: The Platipus sound lives again!! Every nostalgic of that mid-90s era will surely have tears in their eyes when listening some tracks here.

 

THE BAD: I would've done without the downtempo tracks, they come off as weak and uninspired compared with the other tracks here.

 

CONCLUSION: OK, this album isn't perfect, I'm sure that purists will frown when listening to some new directions that these artists have taken, and, even though this is the best effort to date by any oldschool artist to keep their old sound, I still couldn't shake off the feeling that something was still missing (I guess that was Giussani's influence). Still, overall I quite like this album and I find is MUCH better than most new releases out there (even by oldschool legends). 4/5

 

favorite tracks: 1 (!), 4(!!!), 8

[rino]

Damn straight they're back!

 

Only up until a few weeks ago, my perception of Union Jack was "Oh, the regular trance guys who recorded that great tune called Two Full Moons & A Trout!". Fast forward a weeks later to O.Z.O.R.A. Festival, opening act of the day (night), ten o'clock in the evening.

 

Basically, apart from re-invigorating my faith in some vintage old school acid trance, there were these amazing tunes which made me go completely ape shit to... Oh yeah, a few days more to get sober back in Zagreb, dusting some old records off, and the getting re-acquianted with the following, this time not out in the open, but in the comfort of my living room; Papillon, Triclops, Longhorn, Vowel, Funnelweb... WOW!

 

This album is anything but perfect, and I am far from being the person competent enough to say whether the old Platipus sound is back or not, but if this is a return to the style of some days long gone, then I welcome it back with both hands wide open, and if it's an exploration of new and exciting territory, my infatuation is even greater.

 

With a fine balance between ambient/downtempo and dance floor orientated material, Union Jack have created an album, which may not reach the insanely high standards met on their classic debut "There Will Be No Armageddon", yet they deliver an album many modern artists would consider a career defining moment. Not as acidic as its predecessor, but fortunately relieved of superflous ornaments, cheesy trance diva vocals and uplifting explosions of something lost & doomed souls on a global scale mistakingly refer to as emotional melodies...

 

I am not really that much of an expert in this territory, but for an album which has five pieces which levitated an entire main stage thirty feet up in the air, and the remaining material, while not as dance friendly, most definitely demands your attention - this is an album I overlooked and decided to ignore despite reading the previous review which, in my opinion, pretty much nails it all down.

 

As I stated, I doubt this will ever get as much praise as their debut, but for an act which has been absent for as long as they have, this is not only a positive surprise, this is a return to form many can only hope for. All of you scene veterans looking for a way to please both, fans of the old and maybe even imbibe some new followers along the way - this is how it should be done!

As for the favorites, I'll stick to Lemmi's picks: Papillon, Longhorn (Jesus almighty what a track!) and Vowel are at the top of my list at the moment. Please do yourself a favor and check this out, no point in making the thirty third IM thread this week when music this good is waiting to be heard...