James Talk/Various Artists- ‘Thinking Out Loud 2’ (Nascent) Released 26/07/06

‘Thinking Out Loud 2’ is brought to the ears of the public by the DJ James Talk and is a mix of tracks with typical sounds of the Rave and Dance tunes spun in the 90’s, (sounds which should stay consigned to that era) it’s not something you could call original or inventive.

The opener ‘Ride Up To The Stars’ takes too long to really get started and even when it does it still has a slow paced feel to it. It’s not the kind of number that grabs your attention in the way it needs to and already the temptation is to hit the ‘off’ button. ‘Don’t Disturb is slightly more lively with futuristic blips and noises but like ‘Ride Up To The Stars’ there is a lack of substance and forte within the music.

Moving on with ‘Insatiable’- this is what can only be described as Doctor Who meets computer game, and the drones of ‘Heavy What?’ will drive you mad; but credit where credit is due, some slight relief is brought to the latter track by the lighter sounds drawn in partway through the haze of noise.

Essentially the rest of the album sounds much the same- from ‘Mummy Can I Join The Stoners Club?’ to ‘House Rhythm’ and ‘Fields Of Green’, they are all average, dull and quite frankly boring. Perhaps the only interesting thing about ‘Think Out Loud 2’ is that since each of the tracks roll into one another, you could say that it’s just one long dance number with thirteen different parts to it; rather than thirteen separate tracks. But it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other- whichever way you look at it, it’s awful.