Ease Division 3 - compiled by Solar Fields

Great cover, great track list, compiled by one of my favourite artists of all time, Solar Fields. Of course my expectations were very high, which is always a dangerous thing and while many times in 2008 my expectations were met or even surpassed this compilation shows the flip side. Yes, expectations were not met for me here but still a worthwhile CD with some great tracks, the average tracks grew on me over time but I am afraid that the weak tracks have stayed poor and continued to be skipped when listening to this.

There are some good tracks though, Amos- Street Lights has a vocal wail that initially bugged me but after some time undisturbed managed to sneak through my defenses and under my skin. I Awake- Life Cipher is better than anything on the I Awake album with a much more spine tingling atmosphere. Carbon Based Lifeforms & Solar Fields add tracks that are worthy of such great artists although CBL’s track is a little too short. Xerxes- Early Morning Crystals is a great track, the most minimal here but very entrancing and engaging. Finishing off the compilation is Kritical Audio- Yellow Blend half of which is Robert Elster from Vibrasphere is a real standout to finish with.

The tracks I am disappointed in are the Vibrashpere offering which is a little too cheesy for me with Irina Mikhailova’s vocals and James Murray’s opener is solid but not so engaging. His album on Ultimae though was a treat I am very happy to own.

The tracks I don’t like are Blue Planet Corporation- A Foret(e)st of Paradise which is awful right through from boring melodies to a cringe worthy sample. Worse still though is Illuminus- Dem Cowboys which gets progressively worse throughout culminating in Native American Indian war cries.

Recomendation:  : Overall I have to say I am a little disappointed with this release. With Solar Fields compiling it and what looked like such a strong track list, built my expectations very high indeed. There are some great tracks here, some pleasant tracks but also some overly cheesy and even a couple of tracks I have to skip when playing. I get the feeling that this wasn't compiled as a journey but as a showcase for returning and upcoming artists. In this way it only half succeeds for me as there is too much I don't like. Definitely worth the money as the great tracks are great but it could have been a lot better.