THE ORB BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES ALBUM COOKING VINYL, SANCTUARY RELEASE: MAY 5, 2004 (EUROPE), AUGUST 3, 2004 (USA) REVIEW: JUNE 10, 2004

Once, Alex Paterson was one of the firsts to welcome you to the early after hours of the all-night raves, providing a groovy ambient soundtrack when you relaxed and tripped down. He took you on journeys to Ultraworld and beyond and showed you fluffy little clouds. Then the years passed, the ravers diminished their numbers. But Dr Paterson still continued to make music that grooved out, throwing in a few conspiracy theories and some wry English humour in the mix.
This was in the early nineties. But the good Dr Paterson is still with us. And he has actually made his best soundtrack to the wee hours since "Orblivion" from 1997, hell, maybe since "The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld", even!
Together with long time co-conspirators Simon Phillips, Thomas Fehlmann, John Roome and Jimmy Cauty, Paterson has created yet another sprawling record, full of deconstructed dub, far out electronica and some samples from long forgotten BBC children's shows. And damn me if this, in all its easy nostalgia, doesn’t actually sound better than "Cydonia" from 2001. "The Land of Green Ginger", for example, is a classic piece of trippy ambient that will have you making circles ‘round the roof in no time, and raptrack "Aftermath " is a nice and surprising detour into hip hop land for The Orb.
Had this album hit the shops in 1992, it would have been a straight ten and an instant classic. Now, it’s a great return to those dimly lit rooms in the early morning, with a few novelties thrown in for good measure. Not a classic, but great Orb-stuff, even if you are not into nostalgia. If you are, you’re in for a great ride!

KALLE MALMSTEDT