Search - Ian Simmonds :: Return to X

Heinously dry

mr_gibbon | Crystal Lake, IL United States | 05/30/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"a lot of this album sounds like second-rate electro jazz; it seems quite uninspired, and more than just a little bland. the songs are trance-inducing, but not in a good way: i was sent into a kind of dense, stupid trance. this cd is relaxing, but the repetition gets to be a little overt: just a warning. i'll turn to Boards or the Squarepusher for true innovation."

A soft mystery

Annika | Stockholm, Sweden | 01/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is defintely something of a sort of soft mystery to the entire cd, and I love it. I must say, this is a cd that I do not turn to at every hour, all hours of the day (except for the first few weeks I had it). I have reached a point when I decide, yes, now I will listen to return to x. And I enjoy every split second of it. There is a subtlety and intensity to Simmonds music. I would say that if you find yourself liking it rather quickly in the beginning, you will find yourself craving it after heard once through. My favorite...'NO BAMBOO', a very sexy, moody piece that travels with a decided seductiveness. You absloutely want to follow it, move with it. The cover photos are what attracted me first, having not heard of Ian Simmonds when I picked up the cd. Swift, mildly obscure black and white images. The music follows a similar sort of track. I really enjoy Return to X. And even if you do not come to love it, it is a rare bit to add to any collection you have, as well as what I classify as a 'turn on' cd. It will definitely turn on the interest of people you play for (especially those interested in anything linked to the genre). Folks either like it or not. But it will stimulate something, at the very least dialogue....and perhaps as much as hours of repeat enjoyment. (though it still manages to not sound quite the same way twice)."

Jazz not jazz.

Annika | 05/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jazz tinged, languid affair that feels like it wants to find its way into a mid afternoon cocktail party. Easy beats, downtempo in the way that 9 Lazy 9 made afternoons in 1998 thick and slow and sticky and warm. You'll know you are somewhere if this is playing. "I know she's home.""