Hydro

Item: Spiritualisation
Author: Todd Brown

Spiritualisation

(1995)

Reviewed by Todd Brown

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Label Orange Recordings / VelocityThe LighthouseFebruary 1997

dance pop electronic techno

You know, without that lovely little island across the ocean, N-Soul Records (and sub-label Velocity) would most likely have ceased to be long ago. The latest in their continuing string of British dance imports is Hydro. Having planted themselves firmly atop the Christian dance scene with the successes of other import acts World Wide Message Tribe and Rhythm Saints, N-Soul looks to have further cemented their position there with Hydro.

True to form for Velocity, this is straight ahead club music-and, it's really quite good. Spiritualisation is made up of twelve cuts, aimed straight at the dance floor. The music sticks to the standard club formula pretty closely: start with a strong dance rhythm, add on a catchy riff or two, and then layer on the female soul queen vocals. What sets Hydro apart, however, is their little meanderings away from that formula. "As I Melt" and "(Cilegna)" find the band flirting with more ambient structures, as does their remix of Iona's "Beyond These Shores" (Iona fans: some of you will love this, some will hate it. Such is the nature of the beast. I, for one, think it couldn't possibly be done much better.). "Breath" finds the band toying some with hard trance and trip hop.

Another of Hydro's major strengths is found in their vocals. Their singers are very, very good, and what's more of a surprise, so are their lyrics. It's rare to find a dance band with lyrics as strong as these from "As I Melt:"

To touch the ice maiden With a fire That burns a hole To the depths Of my soul A burning light A waking life ... As I melt Then you change me

Delivering these lyrics are a pair of very strong vocalists. Singing "Beyond These Shores" is, of course, Iona's Joanne Hogg, and though I'm not absolutely certain of this, it certainly sounds like her behind the mic for "Breath". The resident soul queen however is Tracey Bowen, and she certainly holds her own beside Ms. Hogg.

There are only two weaknesses to speak of here. The first is in the execution of a couple tracks. "Birth" was an excellent cut until someone had the not-so-bright idea to end it by simply speeding up the tape over the span of a couple loops. It jumps up the pitch, breaks the rhythm, and just generally shatters the mood of the cut. The second weakness is found in their rhythm programming. Now, granted this is a dance act, and there's a limited palette to work with in that sphere, but still, I can't recall exactly how many different songs have used the same exact rhythm pattern as "Rainmaker." It's more than I could count on my fingers and toes. This, however, is not nearly as large a problem elsewhere on the disc.

On the whole this is a very strong outing and one well worth the money of those listeners who take their dance music seriously.