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My bad. I thought I would get more of the jumped up jazz style of the "Cinco de Mowo" CD; but this disc is Electronica. Not my thing. I should have done my homework 1st.
There are pockets of Dorn's usual inspired brilliance, but on this run they're surrounded by track after track of sheer padding.A&H starts with a completely unnecessary throwaway track (even at 28 seconds, it goes on way too long), and it's a mixed bag from there. Hey Adam, do you want to cross over or not. turns me off every time.Things pick up a little with "Tres Tres Chic," which is almost as fun as Dorn probably thought it was going to be when he first conceived of it. "Step" is awful from start to finish--there's no progression at all--and the only reason I can imagine for Dorn including it was that he had four minutes to fill and absolutely nothing else to fill it with. "Intothinair" (which you may recognize from the club scene in "The Bourne Supremacy"), the longest track, is all right; it reminds me of a faster version of Slim's "Next to Nothing." Again, though, the feedback bass comes off as a square peg crammed into a round hole.
"Lighten Up Again" ends the album on a completely forgettable note.The more I listen to this album, the more I think that, not too long into production, Dorn realized what a total mess he had on his hands, got irrevocably frustrated and depressed, and slapped things together just enough to make Palm Pictures happy and satisfy his contract, giving up all aspiration of living up to his usual amazing standards. And, surprise. they're both fantastic. Also, the use of Dorn's trademark analogue feedback noises, the smooth driving wheel of Mixed Emotional Features, is cumbersome and obnoxious here.
Sure enough, on track 03 there's more trouble: "Air Suspension" is muffled and clumsy, too much beat and not enough bass, and has nowhere near the finesse to justify dragging on for nearly six minutes. Some other reviewers here interpret A&H's sound as a self-conscious parody of the crossover attempts of Moby and Fatboy Slim, but after having listened to it closely I would argue that the album is nothing more than just such a crossover attempt, and an inferior one at that. If you're totally nuts about the Worker, I suppose A&H is worth a look, but it's depressing to think that the genius behind "Times of Danger" and "Floating" would end his career on such a mediocre note, not to mention one which is a clumsy and transparent attempt to get to a place he had no business being. I immediately disliked A&H when it first came out, but after reading all the glowing reviews here I decided to give it a second chance and picked up a used copy. In "Waiting for Verdeaux," the feedback sounds tired by this time but Adam works it into the song's structure enough to almost pull it off. Even then, this might have been a decent track, but the breathy, unintelligible vocal by Bono (did he not want to be recognized).
Rather than the ignominious, crash-and-burn end to a promising start, A&H has become the troubled transition between two wildly enjoyable pairs of albums in two wildly different genres. "Cha Cha Cha" starts with excessively hard tub-thumper beats, and then collapses under the feedback effect, which cuts through its kitschy samples like a buzzsaw. Mocean Worker's website hasn't been updated since September of 2000, when Aural & Hearty came out, for reasons somewhat obvious when you listen to the album. "I never had such fun in all my life," the sample says at the end of "Boba Fett"--unnecessarily, since it's perfectly obvious that Dorn had all kinds of fun crafting each track on MEF. And it's equally evident that he had no such fun with A&H.
Sometimes the crossover thing works--see BT's highly underrated Motion in Still Life--but mostly it's a recipe for disaster.EDIT: It's been four years since I made this review, and Dorn, now fancying himself "the MoWo," has put out two new albums.
"Velvet Black Sky" is an altogether smoother affair, but it just makes me want to listen to the far superior "Counts, Dukes, & Strays".
That said, I stand by my trashing of it.
"Hey Baby" is a catchy little number, but with it Dorn immediately shoots himself in both feet: it's as fluffy as cotton candy, melting in the mouth and leaving nothing more substantial behind than a few grains of sugar, sure to disappoint the fans who loved the dark complexity of "Rene M." and "Son of Slam", while at the same time diverging too far from his customary sound to set any kind of tone for the rest of the album.
This album was a mistake.
The exact same sample shows up to haunt the otherwise porno-funky "Thick Interlude".
"Astroglide" is a decent enough excursion into jazzy d'n'b, one with a more toned-down feedback effect, but it also sounds like Dorn forgot he'd already included "Intothinair" and tried to make it over again.
They're both crossovers, but unlike A&H, they're crossovers that worked.
But it's a mistake that Dorn learned from.
You know that thing - Dance like no one is watching. This has replaced all of my "Old Faithful" albums, and is now the album I turn to when I need something fun. The vocals, unlike some other dance music, are understandable and singable (which just makes the album more fun). My husband is Mr Punk Rock. Way to go. He can't stand my Techno or Dance Music. Well, with this album you could care less whos watching - because they're probably dancing too. The mixing musical style on this album is clean.
But he does like this album. He actually dances around the house with our 6 month old son singin - HEY BABY. And there are no words for the funky butt shakin' beats that are on this album. WOOHOO.
The record flows, winds and ultimately deposits the listener gently on the side of the road before veering madly out of sight and sound. Without a doubt, the most fun you can have with your clothes on (of course, that doesn't have to stop you from ripping them off). By track three, they may spontaneously fall to your feet anyway.Far more than a mere rumpshaker, Aural & Hearty is a deep and complex listening experience laden with hooks and brilliantly edited. Don't let the inevitable comparisons to Fatboy influence you. This is twice the fun with half the pretense.
Who could imagine that the son of 32 Jazz head Joel Dorn and junglist extraordinaire would ever produce.a party album. I like it when an artist can laugh at himself, don't you. Will this release cause Dorn the loss of some fans. Possibly, although the moniker "Mocean Worker" still applies to this type of music. 'Aural and Hearty' seemingly abandons those advances.or does it. The same goes for several other prolific artists, including Photek and Red Snapper, who along with Dorn are helping prove that electronic musicians cannot be defined by one musical style.
Clearly, they are succeeding. Dorn had already overcome his sophomore jinx, as 'Mixed Emotional Features' was clearly a smooth and natural progression from 'Home Movies from the Brainforest'. This is definitely NOT the album I was expecting from Adam Dorn, aka Mocean Worker.and probably not the album most of his fans were expecting, either. Not really, as this is an album which will appeal to both the underground and commercial markets, and will undoubtedly garner the attention of new admirers and renewed respect from old. Dorn manages to simultaneously celebrate and mock the current state of electronic dance in general. Now, the burning questions: Should 'Aural and Hearty' have been released under a different alias. It remains to be seen whether or not Dorn will return to his roots; I for one am hoping that Dorn will combine his jungle sensibilities with this new sound, and inject some life into a genre that is oft-viewed as increasingly stale.
Most of the tracks are in the house vein, but Dorn throws in some lounge and breakbeat and some trademark Mocean Worker samples, and the whole thing comes off sounding like a cheesy, warped stew of Fatboy Slim's newer material and Basement Jaxx's old.but more effective overall. What a bold step he has taken, because when you change your musical style, you run the risk of alienating your fans. Most likely. Dorn is an artist who has the rare ability to not take himself too seriously, a trait often lacking in junglists and drum n' bassists alike. (One thing though: I would love to know the story behind Adam meeting Bono). Does it matter. Heartily recommended.
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