Bent ‎– Ariels

(original review, 2004) A departure from their normal style, but no less fantastic. Features guest vocalists Steve Edwards (Fila Brazillia, X-Press 2) and the girls from Kosheen and Weekend Players. The most uplifting album I've heard in ages and a contender for album of 2004.

(revised review, October 2008): This album is absolutely timeless. I don't think I'll ever get bored of listening to it – I mean it's not like I listen to it all the time, but when I do I can't help but tip my cap to the Bent boys for creating a modern masterpiece. Just awesome.

When listening to an album, did you ever get the feeling that you're no longer standing on the ground, but floating? Because that's the exact feeling I had when listening to "Ariels" for the first time. At times it's that emotional!
It's very hard to pick highlights from the album, as every single track is a small masterpiece. But I particulary liked "Sing Me" (with the beautiful vocals of Rachel Foster of the "Weekend Players"), "You Are The Oscilator" (same vocalist) and the dreamy "On The Lake", an AMAZING piece of melodic ambient music.

"Ariels" is a truly wonderful album. Out of all Bent's work, this album is the closest to my heart. Highly recommended, especially on lonely nostalgic evenings.

As the previous reviewer stated, Bent has always a penchant for reworking or revitalizing obscure tracks and, thus, delivering a polished retro feel to their productions.
In ARIELS, they apparently took a turn in the road in order to venture a change in the scenery.
All I can say is: the landscape they've captured and pictured in this new album is simply mesmerizing.
Deeply emotional, ARIELS could be unfairly called "cheesy" after a first listen. However, if you take the time to really absorb it, you'll realize the album is melancholic without being depressive, and it's sad without being sappy.
And AS YOU FALL is one of the most heartbreaking song I have ever, ever heard.

Bent has always excelled at making gorgeous downtempo with a humorous twist, but some of their best tracks ("So Long Without You," "Magic Love") have only been clever recrafting of other tracks. So without the reliance on samples, what's left? On ARIELS, they prove that they're more than the contents of their sampler. Right away, on "Comin' Back," they show off their penchant for songcraft with a Asian-tinged, pentatonic melody. They provide plenty of surprises, too: the peppy intro of "I Can't Believe It's Over" quickly turns into sadness. "As You Fall" revels in its own dreaminess, while "Silent Life" is pure 60s-pop catchiness. BJ Cole's pedal steel guitar adds a haunting country elegance to the instrumental "On the Lake." And even though the album is front-loaded with the stronger individual songs, the latter part of the album holds its own: "Sunday Boy" drifts along lazily, while "Exercise 4" puts the pep back in. "The Waters Deep" plunges headlong into a dreamy funk, bringing both parts of the album together cohesively. ARIELS represents a real step forward for the Bent gents.