- Audio CD (3 Mar 2003)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Sport
- ASIN: B00008DI1M
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 102,289 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Nottingham's Bent are like the funny uncle of the chill-out world--scruffy, eccentric, often embarrassing, but lovable all the same. The Everlasting Blink, the duo's second album, is like a similarly oddball relative; interestingly strange, but not the kind of thing you'd want to live with for any length of time. It's every bit as beautiful as the likes of Lemon Jelly and Zero 7, but with a roughness and fuzziness that makes it impossible to dislike.
In Bent's world, smooth grooves and multicoloured soundscapes are replaced by dodgy samples from cheesy charity-shop records, crisp beats and cheap ambient synth sounds. Their debut album, 2001's Programmed to Love, took this spiky cut-and-paste approach to extremes, with intensely laidback cuts next to odd electronic work-outs. On the other hand, The Everlasting Blink is a much smoother proposition--just as silly and cheesy, but with altogether better production and less freaky weird-outs. It's full of glimmering trinkets of sonic loveliness; gems such as the poppy "Beautiful Otherness" (featuring the Beloved's Jon Marsh on vocals); lead single "Magic Love"; semi-acoustic country sing-a-longs and quirky electronic interludes. For those who've already fallen in love with Bent, this is nothing new; for those yet to convert, it should be a revelation. --Matt Anniss
Review
Bent's debut album Programmed To Love came bursting out into our living rooms three years ago. With choice tunes like "I Love My Man", "Always" and "Swollen", it heralded a new direction in leftfield dance, and in turn welcomed a new addition to the coffee table CD collection. Those Sunday Best tracks are now considered classics thanks to their over exposure on the latest All-Back-To-Mine-For-The-Greatest-Chillout-Album-In-The-World-Ever collection.
The Nottingham duo's new album, The Everlasting Blink, is by Simon Mills and Nail Tolliday's own admission their first album proper; their aforementioned debut to their minds more a collection of tracks. Regardless, the culmination of years of trawling second-hand record shops and car boot sales in search of the ultimate sample have produced a record that is firmly tongue-in-cheek and full of surprises.
Whilst the band are keen to stress this is not a concept album, there is a distinct theme with eerie soundtrack beds, kitsch sci-fi flavours and loved-up, down tempo beats en masse. Similarly, collaborations are aplenty: 1970s icon David Essex adds his two-pennys-worth to the Spanish guitar-kissed "Stay The Same", and country star Billie Jo Spears is to "So Long Without You" what Tammy Wynette was to the KLF's hoedown "Justified And Ancient".
The ethereal tones of the Beloved's Jon Marsh makes an appearance on the drifting string-soaked "Beautiful Otherness", while Captain & Tennille are expertly sampled to provide the musical inspiration on the beautifully lush 'n' dreamy lead-single "Magic Love". This is by far the album's standout track and with Ashley Beedle's remix makes the song an early contender for single of the year.
As a whole the chill beats and blissed out musicianship work well together and further highlight why Bent are the dons of eclectic cool and a slightly less pretentious alternative to, say, Air. Well worth getting your hands on. --Jack Smith
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The second coming,
By Mr Miles Gripton (London, London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Everlasting Blink (Audio CD)
I discovered Bent early last year, thought I had found something new, soon realised I had been pretty slow. That aside the first album was a joy. In a pretty mixed up world it is refreshing to hear a pair of artists making soothing, stirring and downright enjoyable soundscapes.This second outing offers more of the same with some fantastic use of old artists on 'guest' sampled vocals. Nana Mouskouri makes a welcome return, joined by Billie Jo Spears, Captain and Tennille and even David Essex! Inspired. The leaning towards country music is done is such a way as to leave you wanting to open up to a long neglected genre. BJ Cole's pedal Steel playing is wonderful. Whereas Goldfrapp use a Theremin to inject a haunting side to their ballads, Bent have found just the musician to polish their sound. Bent's new album is a must. If you like Lemon Jelly you'll love this.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Everlasting gobstopper,
This review is from: The Everlasting Blink (Audio CD)
Cheesy and cheap are words often bandied about in reviews of Bent records, but that's a little harsh when it comes to this album. While their choice of vocal contributions (Billie Jo Spears, David Essex) is certainly offbeat the result is the sort of polished pop associated with the LP's producer Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys, New Order). Hague's influence is particularly strong on the David Essex 'collaboration' which kicks off sounding like Chris Lowe covering New Order's Thieves Like Us.Overall though, Everlasting Blink has a sound which can perhaps best be desribed as Orbital jamming with Lemon Jelly while the KLF man the sampler. Highlights for me are the hazy infectious disco of Magic Love, the catchy electro pop of Ordinary Day and the Jon Marsh-vocalled Beautiful Otherness which brings back fond memories of early Nineties raving. As so often happens with music of this type, tunes from The Everlasting Blink are already finding their way into advertising (such the recent ad for tax credits).
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bootifull,
By
This review is from: The Everlasting Blink (Audio CD)
Amazon had been recommending this album for me for weeks, but as Im a bit wary of groups I havent heard of, I ignored their pleas, and it was only when I saw it on-sale elsewhere that I bought it.WHAT WAS I THINKING! I was kicking myself for days, that I ignored the amazon tribe, cos this CD is GGrrrreat. It starts with a sample from Tomita and I thought for a moment that they had put the wrong CD in the case, but it just got better. The tunes are dancy, but not in a Cream/Fabric vein. It reminded me of Royskopp, and Banco De Gaia, but a bit more mainstream. Possibly closer to I Monster, or Mint Royale. The best track has to be Ordinary Day, Im not sure of the sample, but I have been singing it to myself all morning.
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