Herbert – ‘Scale’ (K7) Released 29/05/06

Even if you don't initially recognise the name Herbert, Matthew Herbert's influence as a remixer has been so wide spread that it's inevitable you've probably heard something he's been involved in, even if you don't know it.  From Super Furry Animals to his varied work with Roisin Murphy and Moloko, Herbert is a man who's inquisitive about and experimental with noise and life.
 
His fifth studio album 'Scale' effortlessly mixes big band with disco house rhythms and a smattering of modern jazz. As theatrical in parts as it is light in others, long time collaborator (and now his wife too) Dani Siciliano joins Herbert again as the main vocalist on the record creating some dreamy yet detached ambiances with her voice. While stylish strings and brass are omnipresent, Scala claims to contain 723 sampled objects throughout the album from "coffins, petrol pumps, meteorites, an RAF Tornado bomber and somebody being sick outside a banquet for a notorious London arms fair". 
 
Album opener 'Something Isn't Right' immediately brings us to that Herbert sound we know and love. Intricate layering of an almost classical orchestra, the duelling of female and male vocals, as well as an underlying soul house beat urge us to lay back and dream of lying watching an Ibizian sunset in the soaring heat. Samples first seem to come into play in 'The Movers and The Shakers' where our ears are subjected to funny bleeps, squelches and indecipherable noises. If you're listening to the album on headphones, then you'd be shaking your head violently somewhat about this point.
 
But it's not all about big beats here. The almost quiet and leftfield 'We're in Love' is one of the loveliest tracks on the album. Opening with assorted noise jumbles and a stunning cinematic string section, you'd have to listen very carefully to the lyrics to realise it's a beautiful song about an entirely ugly subject – the collapse of the world after the destruction of our natural resources.
 
While 'Scale' makes us sometimes feel like we're listening to a quiet Venetian Snares, (particularly 'Just Once'), there is more to the album that noise with a desolate political theme resonant throughout. A unique and beautiful album, this may be dance music but it's more for quietly contemplating at home then busting a groove on the dancefloor to.