The Orb - Abolition of the Royal Familia: Album review

This album is right up my street. As a big fan of dance music, The Orb’s style was always a little more ‘trippy’.

The single ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ was a huge hit back in the day, uniquely sampling clips from an interview with American singer Rickie Lee Jones.

In the clips she recalls picturesque images of her childhood, such as the aforementioned little fluffy clouds - which gives the single a real ambient feel.

And here, The Orb returns with their new album Abolition of the Royal Familia.

It’s the seventeenth album by founder Alex Paterson, teaming up for the first time with Michael Randall as his main writing partner.

And the album is everything you would expect from the outfit. It’s something you can put on in the background while you have friends round for dinner or drinks. (Perhaps not in these current times but when the current situation blows over and we all go back to some normality).

Otherwise, we need music in our lives at times like these.

You’ll find here deep ambience, interlinked with numerous samples, such as punchy brass, classic house, hip hop, psych and somewhere or other, a pop element.

The album is out on March 27.

Reviewed by Zoe Myall