Appliance - 'Are You Earthed' (Mute) Released 10/03/03

If there was ever a sound track for those lovable Tibetan monks to meditate to then this latest offering by Appliance [their third] is surely it, with subtle flavours of the far east mixed in with retro Pac-Man sounds and soothing percussion work, a tranquil mindset is never far away...

Right from the first track 'Tuesday is nearly over' through to the last track [also the title track] 'Are You Earthed' it induces a vortex within the subconscious to open and then proceed to be filled with images that laugh, cry and look inquisitively at you while changing colour. This type of album may well find its niche in your CD collection sandwiched between Primal Scream's 'Screamadelica' and Ian Browns 'Unfinished Monkey Business'.

I can envisage pill poppers countrywide reaching for this album after a frantic night's dancing to massage their sore heads back to the realities of every day life and with the fluffy, dreamy vocals like those on show here that will not be a problem. There are enough interesting moments in this album to be worthy of the record company investing in them for a fourth album. Fingers crossed.