Latest CD releases reviewed
First World Power Conference Cino Resso ***
Karl Burke and Giles Packham have added much to their arsenal almost four years on from their accomplished debut. While On Unknown Soil spoke volumes about the pair's experience as film scorers, there's a far more likable cohesion and sense of melodic direction to First World Power Conference. Much of this can be attributed to both a newfound taste for collaboration (there are robust vocal contributions from Nina Hynes and ex-Bewitched singer Sinéad O'Carroll) and an expansion of the duo's musical boundaries beyond mere techno and ambient horizons. That this works and produces some cracking tracks (Feel Me Close, A Place for the Other) is hugely heartening. While there's still a tendency to dwell on atmospherics and textures, the potential revealed by their move to melodies is encouraging. www.cinoresso.com Jim Carroll
Jim Carroll
