Search - Two Lone Swordsmen :: The Fifth Mission (Return to the Flightpath Estate)

Needs a bit more spastic magic

Catfood03 | in front of my computer typing reviews | 06/08/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I regard Two Lone Swordsmen (Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood) one of the best bands to ever get tagged with the label "electronica". Their output for Warp Records is peerless and distinct from any other artist in it's genre.



Before Warp there has been several 2LS releases, including this one "The Fifth Mission". It has the all trademarks and quality of the 2LS sound, but after being spoiled first with their best music it's hard to step back and place this on equal ground with A Bag of Blue Sparks or Tiny Reminders. The Fifth Mission is two discs full of music with lengthy compositions mostly of mid-tempo speed. 2LS has proven that it can really work a nice groove, and extend it without loosing punch, yet somehow the magic is not working as well here. The tracks on this album sound too skeletal, needing some added meat to flesh out the beats and noises to make them fully engaging. Too many times I felt the urge to skip the track to forward to a new one and sometimes was met with similar boredom.



I bought this because I wanted to hear the band in their formative years. In recent years the band have indulged themselves with more conventional "rock" music songwriting. (I respect the band for following their hearts and not fan expectations, even when I don't follow their new path.) I knew if I wanted to hear more electronic music from them I would investigate their earlier work. In actuality the tracks on this CD is not far removed from the start of their Warp output, but sadly it is not nearly as awe-inspiring either."