ACP Vinyl & CDs

Review: Having set aside their musical differences following a period of reflection, the Hartnoll brothers return with their tenth studio album. The break seems to have done them some good, because "Monsters Exist" contains some material that's every bit as beguiling and impressive as their most celebrated work. Certainly, there are hints of classic Orbital in the spellbinding electronics and enveloping gloominess of "Buried Deep Within", the intergalactic ambient symphony of "There Will Come a Time" (listen out for a guest spoken word vocal by rave's favourite scientist, Professor Brian Cox), and the title track's rapidly expanding paranoia. There are a few dancefloor-centric blasts from the past, too ("Hoo Hoo Ha Ha" and the festival-friendly bounce of "PHUK"), suggesting that the veteran twosome could be ready for a late-career revival.

Review: Having set aside their musical differences following a period of reflection, the Hartnoll brothers return with their tenth studio album. The break seems to have done them some good, because "Monsters Exist" contains some material that's every bit as beguiling and impressive as their most celebrated work. Certainly, there are hints of classic Orbital in the spellbinding electronics and enveloping gloominess of "Buried Deep Within", the intergalactic ambient symphony of "There Will Come a Time" (listen out for a guest spoken word vocal by rave's favourite scientist, Professor Brian Cox), and the title track's rapidly expanding paranoia. There are a few dancefloor-centric blasts from the past, too ("Hoo Hoo Ha Ha" and the festival-friendly bounce of "PHUK"), suggesting that the veteran twosome could be ready for a late-career revival.

Review: For this unlikely comeback album, nearly eight years since Orbital's last full-length, the decidedly mediocre Blue, the Hartnoll brothers have wisely gone back to what they did best - namely club-friendly electronica bristling with big moments, cinematic melodies and catchy synth riffs. There are tracks that recall their greatest work - see the "Belfast"-ish strings of "Stringy Acid" or "The Girl With The Sun In Her Head" style "New France" - and cuts that offer a timely reminder of their ability to create sublime electronic music. It's not perfect, by any means, but there's enough to excite, not least a bonus disc containing rousing live versions of some of their greatest hits.