Artist: Morcheeba
Album: The Antidote
Label: Echo
Release Date: September 27, 2005
Web: www.morcheeba.net
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Morcheeba can arguably be called the creators of the “chill out” movement. Their wonderful and highly influential 1998 album Big Calm was at the forefront of a new downtempo breed of electronica that became essential to those desiring hip music to relax with. Vocalist Skye Edwards’ angelic vocals blended perfectly with the ethereal backgrounds created by brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. The band released two more albums between the classic Big Calm and the brand new Antidote, both of these hit the shelves with mixed reviews.
The new release is the first effort without the seductive vocal tones of Skye Edwards. In her place the brothers Godfrey enlisted Daisy Martey, formerly of the band Noonday Underground, to be the new frontwoman of the group. Recent live performances by Morcheeba have included Jody Sternberg as the vocalist leading to speculation that Daisy Martey is also no longer part of the band. In any event, an album will always speak for itself.
I must admit that a Morcheeba album without Skye Edwards sounded like a recipe for disaster, but after giving the record a real chance, I was pleasantly surprised. However, I must warn you, if you’re a Morcheeba fan The Antidote sounds nothing like the band you know. The record it more rock than chill. I can see how fans of the band will shun the record because it’s so different, but it would be a shame to miss out on what the band is doing because of cookie cutter expectations. It may have been smart for the Godfrey brothers to release The Antidote under a name other than Morcheeba. If it was shipped to critics under a different name and without knowledge of who the band was, I can guarantee that the reviews would be much better across the board.
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