Date: Thu, 9 Oct 1997 16:36:29 +0100 From: Simon Vaughn Subject: New Labradford This is from an ad in the Melody Maker for Vital Releases: Labradford 'Mi Media Naranja' (Blast First) With their fourth album, Labradford have once again broadened and varied their sound, while maintaining their distinctive identity. "Mi Midea Naranja" directly translates as "the other half of the orange" which is a Spanish expression meaning "my other half". The title is a guide to the sumptuous, intimate nature of the album. Does anyone have any more news on this, release dates etc? Cheers, Simon ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 14:23:09 -0400 From: Dez <100702.123@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Some recent stuff The list has been away for a few months, but I'll resist the temptation to send a huge great swarm of reviews, but instead mention a f= ew things that have made an impact. On the 'post-rock' front (I hate these labels), the new Labradfor= d, 'Mi Media Navanja', won't raise any eyebrows. The seven tracks aren't any= kind of radical departure, but they do display a distillation of the trademark sound into something really pure and moving. It's probably thei= r most even work to date, but their best? I'm not so sure at the moment. There have already been a number of postings about the new FSA album. Again, it seems the work of people who've established their boundaries and are determined to work within them, rather than push the envelope. But having said that, it works well. Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 10:00:13 +0000 From: David Thorpe Subject: Re: Low re: kranky release I'd recommend you also take a look at the new Labradford on Kranky - "Mi Midea Najanja" (tr: "The other half of the orange"). Whilst others have mentioned it's no great departure, I think for such non-progressive music it's actually quite a leap - I reckon Labradford would need about twenty albums to change as much stylistically other bands can do in a couple of songs. Best way to describe the album is as "wide and expansive". The opening song feels like the soundtrack to a particularly visually stimulating spaghetti western, and continues more-or-less in the same vein. I think vocals are limited to one track [the voice treatment sounds like Matt Johnson a la The The] but through the rest of the album there's the gentle resonance of violin, cello and piano and the odd mystical sample. My only regret is that the last song finishes on a rising note leaving me gasping for more. A great album to wind down with. The concert in London was pretty good too. Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 09:28:52 -0800 From: Jens Alfke Subject: Heavy Rotation [reviews] Labradford "Mi Media Naranja" -- They're in a rut, I think, but several tracks here are gorgeous, especially #6. Their use of strings continues to be brilliant, but on the other hand, much of the keyboard sounds and playing are starting to sound awfully sappy to me, kind of like Eno's worst electric-piano bits. [Kranky] Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 12:15:33 -0800 From: Jens Alfke Subject: Re: Labradford <> opinion From: David Thorpe >Well, I don't necessarily see them as "being in a rut", just taking >a sideways move from ambient-quitar influences to others (film? >desert? expansive?). Introducing additional instruments and samples >has really worked well for me Each of their first three albums seemed like a progression from the last, most noticeably because they added more instruments (bass, and then violin) but also in the overall gestalt of the sound. But "Mi Media Naranja" sounds to me like a continuation of "Labradford". This isn't necessarily a bad thing -- I often wish artists would take longer to explore the styles they've defined before rushing off to a new sound -- but I think I used the semi-negative word "rut" because I find their new sound often less interesting than their older one(s). >... although occasionally the phrase "new >age composer" does come to mind and makes my stomach sink a bit. Yes, that's my complaint; I mentioned the keyboard sounds earlier. And there are just enough tracks that show they've still got It (on the new album, mostly tracks 1 and 6) that it makes the noodliness of much of the rest that much more frustrating.