THE ART OF NOISE ONLINE www.theartofnoiseonline.com

Source: Q

Author: David Roberts

July 1990

ART OF NOISE
The Ambient Collection
CHINA 843403

Making a whole-hearted return to the sort of innovative instrumentalism that mode their name, The Art Of Noise have skilfully tuned in to the increasingly ambient preoccupations of modern club music, while taking their inspiration as much from names like Brian Eno and Laurie Anderson as KLF and The Orb. Quite gorgeous at times, The Ambient Collection is a calming collage of moods and sounds that caresses the listener through an exquisitely esoteric experience. Winsomely named individual tracks melt one into another, with each piece retaining just enough of a semblance of structure to allow familiarisation. The only vaguely irksome aspect is provided by the oft-repeated buzz of engines travelling from one speaker to another, sounding at times a little too like those comical aid stereo-demonstration records. ****

David Roberts