Faithless Albums (8)
What The Critics Say
Following their number one greatest-hits collection Forever Faithless from the previous year, Faithless released their fifth studio album, To All New Arrivals, at the end of 2006 while the former was still enjoying its extended run on the charts. The album title referred to the new babies in the families of bandmembers Rollo and Sister Bliss, but could have equally referred to the tracks, most of which feature collaborations including Harry Collier, Robert Smith from the Cure, Cat Power, and former member Dido on the track "Last This Day." The album opens with a phone call that could have been made from the Twin Towers in 2001, a woman's voice saying "If I don't get out of this, I just want you to know that I really really love you." Then the track "Bombs" moves into trance territory, with an antiwar political message and a chorus that declares there is "so much love, so much pain, so much more than I thought could ever contain." Smith is featured on the track "Spiders, Crocodiles & Kryptonite," with a pulsing beat, distressed children sounds, and a sample of his own number "Lullaby" -- there are also harmonies that remind one of Massive Attack's "Unfinished Symphony." There are three instrumentals, the repetitive tinkling "Nate's Tune," the trancelike "I Hope," and the final track, "Emergency," which throws everything including the kitchen sink into a seven-minute soundscape. ~ Sharon Mawer, All Music Guide
'Everything Will Be Alright Tomorrow'
Release Date 8/30/2004
Tracks 9
Label Cheeky
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Not that it was a valid argument before, but with the release of No Roots you can't say "every Faithless album sounds the same" any longer. The 15 tracks are broken into two suites -- seven tracks each -- with a remix of "Mass Destruction" tacked onto the end. Both suites focus on love: love of people, love of humanity, love of peace. There's plenty of conviction, plenty of message, and very little for the club. Headphone-friendly, the album is the best showcase yet for Rollo and Sister Bliss (the musical half of Faithless), as the music (all in the key of C by the way) is stunning. Polished and purposeful, the tunes glide one to the next effortlessly, making this the most thought-out Faithless album yet. Mood is the thing and as a result only a few tracks -- "Mass Destruction," "I Want You More, Pt. 2," "Miss U Less, See U More" -- stand out on their own. But if the album isn't as powerful as one would have hoped, it's very personal. It's a good move since everybody knows the band can churn out a fluffy banger like "Insomnia" anytime they want; now the band's zealous fans finally make sense to an outsider. The album is for the fans, and maybe newcomers with patience and a penchant for wandering introspection. New vocalist LSK's cool reggae toasting mixes well with Maxi Jazz's conversational style, and "You ain't going to nirvana -- or far-vana" is the only lyric that'll cause cringes. More than a placeholder, No Roots is a satisfying album that's like the kid on the cover. It's lovable but requires attention and commitment. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'Reperspective'
Release Date 8/27/2002
Tracks 24
Label BMG International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Comedowns, it used to be any old reggae 12" or Françoise Hardy tune would do, presumably because when you were sledged out on drink and drugs there was little to compete with the calming aesthetics of your dishwasher filling up with water. But the teeth-chattering, plugged-in child of Mitsubishi post-excess demands more these days; for starters, he'd much rather have the likes of Faithless inviting him back to their place and putting on some Dido and Alex Gopher records. Which isn't as bad as it sounds. Avoiding the trip-hop-for-tourists stigma of their own albums, Rollo and Sister Bliss offer an unpredictable -- yet intensely selected -- collection of songs, ranging from the dour and deranged -- the Tindersticks, Mazzy Star, and Bent -- to undervalued sandcastle classics like Sub Sub's "Past" and Dusted's "Childhood," a brilliantly dubby successor to the Chemical Brothers' "The Sunshine Underground," giving you a cross-faded full hour that seeps into your bones so well that home appliance re-sales are likely to go through the roof. Fancy that. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The second album from UK electronic dance collective Faithless has neither the rampant grooves nor the arrogant idealism to qualify it as anything more than a random, standard dancefloor record with redundant beats and hoary ideas. Clearly, though, more was intended; the theme running throughout Sunday 8pm is one that celebrates club life with an almost religious enthusiasm. The dreamy soundscapes here alternate between elegantly spiritual (and very new age) drifts and dull, tuneless forays into spacy nowhereland -- and the occasional misguided R&B trips lack soul (not all that surprising, considering the coldness of this band's electronica). The one keeper is "God Is a DJ," eight minutes of club worship that repeats the refrain "This is my church" so relentlessly that you begin to wonder if the Faithless altar includes a turntable and synthesizer along with the usual celebratory offerings. ~ Michael Gallucci, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Maxi Jazz, the maestro behind Faithless, is well titled as "the grand oral disseminator." The tales he spins make this album a manifesto, religious experience, sexual escapade, and 24-hour rave all rolled up into one tightly constructed package. As Jazz explored hip-hop through the 1980s and his path converged with dub superstar Jah Wobble, the ultra funky Jamiroquai, and the Soul II Soul amalgamation (among others), the foundation was laid for the delicious blend of genres and sounds that would break through in the mid-'90s. Reverence is the culmination of all those experiences, as Jazz unleashes a fat packet worth of songs that are really an acid house tapestry in disguise. This album is best heard in one sitting, where all its styles work together to tell the story. But break it apart, peel the layers back, and the songs stand alone as well. The hypnotic title track serves nicely as an introduction, before it's waylaid by the downtempo soul ballad "Don't Leave," which is replete with needle, pops, and skips throughout. "Salva Mea," "Insomnia," and "Dirty Ol' Man," three very different songs, tangle themselves together and pick up the thread from "Reverence." "Angeline," meanwhile, emerges as a perfectly impassioned love song. The U.S. release includes the bonus "Monster Mix Radio Edit" of "Insomnia." Maxi Jazz hits a deep chord with this album. It's clubby enough for the kiddies, but is incredibly complex beyond the dancefloor. The songs are great, the beats are compelling, and it's almost impossible to not bounce around the room while listening. But this album is also a collection of shadows, of mirror images, where songs mimic one another before spinning off to do their own thing. Moments are caught and lost, tangled, and straightened out. Really, it's brilliant. ~ Amy Hanson, All Music Guide
