#459: The Shamen - En-Tact (1990)

Zack: That’s three consecutive albums that I really, really enjoyed, a streak which will end right now. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I did not like an electro-rave dance album from 1990. (Or, at the very least, I didn’t like the US/1991 edition…which seems to be radically different from the original version but this is the one that’s been sold since 1991 so I’m sticking with it.) I found it annoying and dull, despite the attempts to seemingly overstimulate the listener. That said, I’ll focus on the few tracks that I did kind of like and point out the elements that drew me to them. First, Possible Worlds and Evil Is Even had these interesting ambient/soundtrack qualities to them. Like, if they were slipped into the background of a TV show, they might kind of work. In a weird way, they kind of reminded me of Nujabes, whose albums and soundtrack work I absolutely adore. These tracks didn’t have the same delicate and ethereal quality than Nujabes songs typically have, but at least there was something sort of compelling about them other than the bouncing and beeping. Second, on Progen 91 and (to a lesser extent) Move Any Mountain, The Shamen embrace a little bit of hip-hop. I mean that beyond just an awkward rap verse shoehorned in there (although they both have them and they are terrible and I’m actually docking points for those). There’s something to those beats that are reminiscent of Afrika Bambaataa, for example. I didn’t totally mind that element as well. On the rest of the album, though, The Shamen eschew these elements in favor of a plainer ravish sound, and I thought it was pretty shitty. But at least there were a few things I could like.

Favorite Tracks: Possible Words; Evil Is Even [edit]; Progen 91 (I.R.P. in the Land of Oz)

Emily: I started listening to this album a couple weeks ago, and I only just returned to it tonight. A combination of things got in the way, including a friend visiting, a busy few weeks of work, traveling for the holidays, and getting a new dog(!!!). Mostly, though, I didn't really want to return to an early-'90s British rave album. Without much going on this evening (and with some prodding from Zack), I returned to En-Tact before settling in to watch basketball and/or Black Mirror. And, big surprise, I still wasn't much of a fan. I mean, it's fine background noise, nothing too clangy or untz-untz or earth-shatteringly loud. But nothing really grabbed my attention, and I was mostly just bored. So bored that this is all I have to say about it.

Favorite Tracks: Omega Amigo; Progen 91 (I.R.P. in the Land of Oz); 666 Edit