Amorphous Androgynous: Alice In Ultraland

Herald rating: * * *

It's hard to know, after years of hunkering down in recording studios, whether Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans have gone a little insane or that they're just doing what they want.

As the Future Sound Of London, they released Papua New Guinea in 1991, one of the best dance music songs ever produced. Also as FSOL they were responsible for the classic 1994 album Lifeforms. The throbbing tribal ambience of FSOL became the mid-90s mantra of dancefloors everywhere.

Don't expect that from Amorphous Androgynous. Alice In Ultraland is a crazed mix of styles - from wonky funk to ambient to world music - with a strong Eastern tinge (as in the sitar-heavy Indian Swing).

Although there are hints of the FSOL throb on tracks such as The Prophet, there are also moments when the sharp soundscapes are abrasive.

So while AA's 1993 debut Tales of Ephidrena came in waves of oscillating ambience and simple rhythms, this album is electronic folk music with some woozy and noisy world music thrown in.

But Summertime of Consciousness is just stupid and signals that the pair may have gone a little nuts. It's all too much of a hash, and in places too waffly, to be essential.

Label: EMI/Harvest