The Vitals:

Label: Twisted
Genre: Psychedelic, Downtempo, Experimental, Ambient
Number of Tracks: 20
How you can obtain a copy: www.psyshop.com

Factor Scores:

• Production Quality: 9.2
• Programming and Arrangement: 8.3
• Entertainment Quality: 9.5
• Total: 9.0 – Tasty & Fresh

Summary:

The album consists of what I interpret to be 8 long songs cut up in to 20 tracks, the first of which long-time Shpongle fans will be familiar with. The 2004 hit "Beija Flor" is divided to create tracks 1-3. 4-5 make up a massive ensemble of psychedelic melody and progression. Next my favorite piece (tracks 6-8) contains an incredibly unique combo of drums, acoustic bass, and an epic serenade of various synths drawn out over 13 minutes.

Tracks 9-10, the only piece using English vocals on the album bring us deeper into Shpongle's "multi-verse". The second half of the song completes the entire piece with an unexpected torrent of high end horns. Unfortunately one of the album's pitfalls can be found in the next track (11) "Circuits Of The Imagination". I love everything about this track, with the exception of the vocal chanting found early in the song. Fortunately these vocals were forgotten after the early minutes of the song, and were only brought back up briefly in the song's final stage. Having dropped the vocal from early on, Shpongle continues the journey, further progressing the album using different moods through a recurring bassline. Following this piece track 14 opens the door to the next one with a completely ambient female vocal. The second half of the piece expands the album even more by bringing a slow 4/4 beat into the track.

After that, track 16 turns up the heat with a much faster tempo, including the same theme as the rest of the album. 17 delivers us another outstanding flute solo, bringing us into the final chapter of the album. Track 18 was a very new sound for Shpongle. Once again a very upbeat tune, it was a lot less psychedelic than the rest of the album. It even featured the brief appearance of an electric guitar. Track 19 is a continuation of 18, a tool used to usher in the final beautiful acoustic guitar solo that closed the album.

From flamenco guitar solos, to "battalions" of Brazilian batucada drums, to mind-bending flute solos, Shpongle have once again outdone themselves with "Nothing Lasts… But Nothing Is Lost". No one could have asked for a better follow-up to their previous full length "Tales Of The Inexpressible". Though there are other artists doing the "psychedelic chillout" thing, none do it with the dynamic and originality that Shpongle have. Fading the line between acoustic downtempo and its electronic elements, this album sucked me right in and brought time to a standstill. On top of that, it has already proven its replay value in my collection. It is easily a must have for any psy collector, any chillout collector, or anyone simply looking to expand their musical range. For this review I've looked and looked and looked, but I can not find any major flaws in this record.

Factor Scores:

Production Quality: 9.2

There is some incredible production quality here from Shpongle. As any listener of theirs can tell, they've got a very signature sound. They did some amazing things with in this case. Musicians of this genre can easily get trapped in a cycle of boring repetition and dry attempts at ingenuity. With this album, Shpongle continues to surprise, impress, and inspire.

Programming & Arrangement: 8.3

Very high rating here as well, some particular highlights include: track 3's chopped up vocal placement. Also, I personally keep coming back to the time signature on tracks 6-8. The time signature changed every other measure from 4 / 4 to 3 / 4 and back, which is very creative as far as dance music goes. Another highlight was the way the horns in track 10 were quantized. They were given the effect of more of a live sounding rhythm, as opposed to a flawlessly spot on one.

Entertainment Quality: 9.5

Highest score of the bunch here. Already I find myself wanting to listen to this album again and again. There are definitely some new sounds on this album, never heard before in the past. For example, there were several tracks toward the end of the album sounding much more upbeat and lighthearted than anything I've ever heard by the group. To pick the least entertaining bits of the album, I've got to say tracks 4, 14, and 17, though they hold their own in all the other important aspects.

Total: 9.0 – Tasty & Fresh

In short, this album is a masterpiece. Solid piece after solid piece is what you will hear buying this record. There already seems to be some debate on whether this album is as good or going to be as "classic" as their last full length "Tales Of The Inexpressible". What is sure is that it will go down in history as one of the greats, just like the rest of their work.

Brian's Take:

Like I said before there is speculation that this album will not do as well as their past works that already have the "classic" reputation. However in my opinion this is their greatest album to date. I'm addicted to it already, and will not be forgetting it any time soon.