Hmmm….somewhat of a curate's egg this one. Y'see, the problem with experimental types such as Mira Calix (or Chantal Passamonte as her mum knows her) is that they rarely recognise the fine line between interesting/challenging/beautiful sounds and a load of self-indulgent b*llocks. This L.P. spends the best part of an hour skipping merrily from one side of that line to the other. Hence for every twinklingly gorgeous "Schmyk" there is a less than listenable "Routine (the Dancing Bear)". Chantal sets out her stall right from the first track. "Ms. Meteo" is five minutes of pleasantly soothing ambient undulations which go nowhere and do nothing when they get there but still manage to scream "Hey kids, this is not a pop record" as they wash over you. It soon becomes clear that there is not going to be a rousing cover of "We will Rock You" hidden at the end of the C.D. (although Chantal might like to consider the possibility for her next offering). There are several points at which "One on One" is so thoroughly delightful that it almost charmed my pants off. Had it been full of such moments I fear I would have been forced to reassess my rather jaundiced views on the whole ambient techno thing. However, as with so much music in the genre, there is a lack of quality control. I suppose it's an obvious fact that if you are experimenting then some things are going to work better than others. Perhaps next time, Chantal should get a lab assistant in to help with the cleaning up so that less of the mess that spills out of the test tubes gets onto the finished product.

Mark Wainwright