Lets put aside the gushing suprelatives for a moment. Pub certainly have their own "sound", and it is fairly unique. Within this sound they have certainly tried to diversify as much as possible, and not a lot of electronica artists can say that. Pantomime explored every angle of ambient, melodic IDM. Single went straight for dense ambient dub territory, with more than a hint of Gas or Yagya. Liltmor was somewhere between the two, if a lot more stripped down (too much I say). Now we have Legless, Pub's new album for 2006, which slipped in under the radar as these Ampoule releases are want to. How do I describe this one, then? Dark, ambi-dub(ish)-techno-IDM.

Uh.. yeah. Look, take something like Autocreation by Mettle, strip it down a bit, and you have most of the tracks on this album. There's some more melodic stuff here like Lick, with its light, galloping hihats, 4/4 beat and warm inviting pads. There is also the utterly awesome Springing Daisy's Mix of Film, with more complex IDM'ish beats and warping, dubby Summer-style melodies. But the rest? Take all the pointless droney tracks off Liltmor, add some wierd sounds and some IDM beats, and you have Surgery, Headless, Screw, and Blackout. Really quite odd, disconcerting dark ambient pieces that slowly develop and fall away. Blackout is a little different in that it is multi-part. The first section, with more dark sounds behind incessant IDM rhythms, suddenly falls away after 6 minutes, leaving some dark clanging atmospherics that slowly build to another section with drums and washy pads. Shattered starts out with a lovely blissed out Pantomime-style opening, with some squelchy synth notes, but this all too quickly disappears, replaced by more pads and scratchy sounds that slowly degenerate into barely audible washes of air.

I'm not sure I enjoy Legless much, to be honest. Lick and Film are great, the two best tracks here without a doubt. But the rest is a hard pill to swallow. Screw in particular gets pretty irritating, with its lead synth part: a scratchy ringing sound playing a wierd arpeggio, over and over. But if you have any interest in dark, atmospheric ambient like Autocreation, or perhaps Coil, you should check this out. It'll also make a perfect soundtrack to those Ultima Underworld sessions. Just don't expect anything like the warm, cuddly epic ambient extravaganzas on Single or Pantomime as there is little of that here. New directions are good in theory, but sometimes I think Pub are beginning to take their minimalism a bit too far. Best track = Film (Springing Daisy's Mix)

More aural soundscapes from Pub & more experimental on this outing too & releasing some rare gems from the Ampoule back catalogue with the classic 'Lick' from the 1st ever Pub EP with nods to all that's great about electronic music. 'Film' being another great which was released in 1999 & lastly from the Ampoule crew we are also treated to 'Surgery' (pun intended), a heavier & moodier number although not without Pub's spacey & aquatic. minimal sounds. The 5 other tracks on here are equally as great with 'Headless' being the standout for me. There's a feel of a possible new direction in these new tracks, keeping to their aesthetic yet treading new paths. There is always great expectation upon a new Pub release within the electronica massive & this does not disappoint..not a bit! As always they end the release with an ambient piece that could send you into an elevated utopia. I listened to this whilst on a plane recently & believe me, it was almost spiritual, soaring through the clouds at high speeds, just kept me smiling. Dreams of a sky city being built & one just watching with awe at the great spectacle.
A soundtrack to a droid's dreams maybe. Thanks Pub, our Cyber-fibre!