If we are time poor and our lives beset by frequent temporal and logistical challenges, a record such as Fall is more likely to quell the frustration and tension than any contrived corporate advertising campaign. There’s a manifest tranquillity about any All India Radio record, and Fall is not different.
The atmosphere is inviting like the retreat you’re occasionally told will ease the problems of your mind, but without the insipid new age rhetoric that will only induce psychosis. Listen to Far Away or the title track and you’re floating through the clouds, blissfully ignorant of the idiocy of the rat race.
The deft rhythms and subtle orchestration of Morning Drops will see you across the vast field of procrastination and prevarication that invariably follows a season of mania. Let Me Remain is centred, like we’re all supposed to be when the music stops; Chameleon is quiet, reassured and resilient. The album ends with Asphixciate and the mood slows to a walk: if only relaxation was this easy.
The album comes with a second CD of remixes of the songs. The remixed versions offer the same comfort, from a different aural and rhythmic perspective. When everything’s too much, All India Radio is always there.
BY PATRICK EMERY
Best Track: Fall
If You Like These, You’ll Love This: PORTISHEAD, TRICKY AND THE CHURCH
In A Word: Tranquil
