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Miles MacMillan hails from the Norh Bay area of Ontario and this is his first album, put together in his own studio.
The spacey cover presentation and titles might give you the impression that you're getting a drifting/ambient album but this is far from being the case with widespread use of older drum machines such as the Roland TR909 (or an equivalent) on the opening "In The Wake Of The Comet" or the tongue twisting "Irreversable Fall Into An Abyss Of Obscurity" (I could think of certain bands that fit this description!!). As part of Mcmillan's stated desire to create a cheesey/camp 60s sci-fi theme-type music it doesn't really work as it sounds too serious to these ears, despite the cheesy organ sound that pops up throughout. It's when such sounds are combined with even older relics such as the now trendy again TR303 that this becomes more obvious, especially in the case of "Waves Of Delusion" where these rhythms are combined with the cheapest, ropiest synth and piano sounds imaginable and the closing "Lullaby For The Aliens" with it's ultra-corny rhythms. I'm sure, though, though that the joke is going to be lost on many people who will take it all too seriously, especially if you remember 80s British artists such as Tim Stebbing and Pete Tedstone and who are thus more familiar with home studio synthmusic (in the days before software made everything so much easier!). This undoubtedly coloured my initial perception of the album, especially when Mcmillan is capable of turning out some more classy pieces such as "Arrival" where even the ubiquitous organ sounds fits in well, "The Age Of Enlightenment" and the up-tempo "Day Of Reckoning" that clocks in at 10.41 and boasts some hot leadlines as well as the additional talents of Bruce Mcmillan on electric piano and additional synths. The leadline here is pretty good as the up-tempo sections alternate with slower, more melodic ones.
Mcmillan is udoubtedly playing a dangerous game with this release and could quite easily come a cropper through any misunderstanding of his intentions but if you approach it in the right frame of mind it does make more sense.
RATING: 6
Artist Link: http://www.milesmacmillan.com
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