Music Review by Neil Sadler
British trance musician and remixer Nick Bracegirdle has built a reputation with remixes and his own mostly ambient music – most notably the track SALTWATER which cleverly used Clannad and also the remix he did of Bryan Adams’ CLOUD 9.
SOMERSAULT will come as a shock to anyone expecting more of the same. This is a much “harder” album. Although there are elements of the ambient style he is known for – tracks such STONED IN LOVE are much more guitar led and have an interesting mix of club vocals, house beats and indie guitar breaks that at certain points sound like Seal singing a New Order track. COME TOMORROW and FAR AWAY FROM YOU echo this New Order sound but with more emphasis on the 80’s synth sounds than the guitars. These are strong pop tunes and stand out as singles in their own right.
Much of the rest of the album is more traditional Chicane. Always plays as a slow building house track with operatic vocals, ARIZONA is an assured ambient soundscape.
Occasionally it lacks the vision to match its ambitions but this is a varied album – showing that Bracegirdle is not resting on his ambient laurels.
