1995 collaborative effort from Ultravox's original vocalist/keyboardist and Louis Gordon, a mixture of vocal & hard edged material with influences coming from both modern techno acts & pioneers like Kraftwerk and T... more »angerine Dream, plus occasional traces of '60s psychedelia. Contains 10 tracks, including 'Crash', 'The Noise' and 'Here We Go'. A Metamatic release.« less
1995 collaborative effort from Ultravox's original vocalist/keyboardist and Louis Gordon, a mixture of vocal & hard edged material with influences coming from both modern techno acts & pioneers like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, plus occasional traces of '60s psychedelia. Contains 10 tracks, including 'Crash', 'The Noise' and 'Here We Go'. A Metamatic release.
CD Reviews
A triumphant return from the master of electronic pop.
04/13/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the best album John Foxx has released since his groundbreaking Metamatic in 1980. A brilliant fusion of electronica and classic pop melodies."
An angel in a ruined suit
N. A. Parry | 03/23/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"John Foxx, whether as creator of Ultravox or solo artist, has always been a pioneer. His warm and emotional songs are paired with a cold detachment, and resulting albums have always been seductive and inspirational because of this. After fourteen (FOURTEEN!) years in the wilderness, Shifting City brings it all back, redressed for the (then) nineties. The same obsessions with ruined and decayed cities, ghosts and shadows, and lush english wildernesses have now been fused with rhythmic, almost dance-like grooves and slower, smokey, more evocative pieces. As a whole, 'Shifting City' embraces all emotions and styles in a way that even his past work has been unable to do. This is essential to everyone with imagination, and he promises many more albums in the near future. If they are anything like this, then they are already highly recommended."
Transition Complete
C. Smith | Edinburgh | 10/20/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"At last John Foxx, with Louis Gordon makes the transistion between metal machine music and traditional music. Having flirted with the use of feedback, with Ultravox! with their final Lp "Systems Of Romance" Foxx matches, neigh surpases previous releases with the industrial "The Noise" the beatlesesque "Shifting City" and the breezy, "An ocean we can Breathe" All excellent and certainly worth the money, you'll not buy a better CD of this genre."
One of the best John Foxx albums of all time
Elusive | United States | 08/05/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Those who loved John Foxx's seminal 1980 album "Metamatic" will find "Shifting City" a triumphant return to that form. Five stars doesn't seem like enough.
Shifting City is a dark, dystopian soundscape. And yet one that is haunted by the ghost of romance. Harshness coexists with a nostalgic warmth. Deep, distorted beats, static, strange but compelling sound effects, and Foxx's fragmented, mysterious lyrics create an unforgettable atmosphere. This would have made a great soundtrack to Blade Runner - or any other movie version of a Philip K. Dick novel.
Foxx's penchant for releasing ambient albums with no vocals is a bit odd to me, considering that he is one of the great lyricists of the 20th (and 21st) century. Happily, Shifting City makes full use of his eloquence. "Shadow Man", arguably the best track on the album, projects a series of bizarre, disturbing, dreamlike images:
"There's a woman asleep
And her skin's like smoke
She loses form
As he loses hope..."
And:
"And he turns to go
He can never leave
And his eyes dissolve
He can hardly breathe..."
Foxx's unique, surrealist perspective, where the world and everything in it seem to be pieces in an eternally changing kaleidoscope, make his lyrics and his music so fascinating. You see or hear something different in them every time.
Shifting City does not suffer from the occasional overindulgence and lack of drive that are a minor annoyance on some of Foxx's other albums. This may be the influence of Louis Gordon. The album feels tighter, stronger and more focused than the other albums.
I keep returning to this one again and again. A must for any John Foxx fan, or anyone interested in the more creative possibilities of electronic music."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1