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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
NOT what you expected!, 11 Oct 2004
By A Customer
Not knowing this album had been produced, let alone released, I happened to stumble across this accidentally and immediately bought it, being the huge Bent fan I am. With newly triggered expectation as I brought it home with me, I was expecting some more great Bent music in their usual beautiful bent way.I was mistaken. At first, any long-time bent fan would definately not recoginise it at all. It's not normal Bent, and that certainly wasn't pleasing initially! I was shocked by how different it sounded. The quirkiness of the previous albums that leaps out at you had disappeared and you're left with 'normal' music. It seemed that any random Joe could have made this... Or so I thought. Refusing to dislike it, my love of Bent forced me to give it a chance, and now I'm wondering why I ever questioned it's undoubted brilliance. It has barely left my CD player since I got it in August, so it must be two solid months of repeated play, which is the only the other album to have grabbed me so much since Chicane's wonderful 'Far From The Maddening Crowds'. 'Ariels' is fantastic. Once you get used to how different it is, you will begin to accept that this is completely different Bent work in its own right, and it's practically flawless. The weakest two for me are 'Sunday 29th' and 'The Waters Deep', which unfortunately verge on pop. However, they do have their moments of brilliance, which makes up for it. Aside from them it's all good. 'Comin' Back' is perhaps the most uplifting track I've heard in ages, probably since Lemon Jelly's fantastic 'Nice Weather For Ducks', which meant I felt refreshed by Bent's new work. Other most stand-out highlights have to be 'Silent Life' (probably my favourite on the album), which is also fantastically upbeat and very catchy. 'Sing Me' is reminiscent of the work of Weekend Players, which features the vocalist of that very artist, and it's no bad thing whatsoever. It's realaxing stuff. Most relaxing of all though has to be the sublime 'On the Lake', which reminds me of former Bent brilliance, with huge amounts of added extra quality, which forms a perfect listen. Finally, 'Exercise 4' brings back memories of previous Bent, with a fun tune, but again, with that added touch that makes Ariels feel so different to Bent's previous work. Make no mistake, the rest of the album is finely crafted and cannot be ignored. There are no "filler" tracks in this as it's all worth listening to. Repeatedly. You cannot go wrong with this, it's the first thing you want to listen to in the morning and the last thing you NEED to listen to at night. Fantastic stuff!
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