I can say without a risk that Shpongle is one of the most important members of electronic music. Since 1999 their success is still huge, however they made three albums "only".
Nothing Lasts... But Nothing Is Lost is wonderful! Really. It's very rare to meet with such a colorful ambient work like this one. I use the word 'ambient', but there is much more style here. Even it starts like a mixed or modern latin traditional music. With track 5 we turn into a faster and more dinamic style. Its rhythm reminds me breakbeat music, but the tracks themselves are really floating and hypnotising. Maybe the most powerful part of the disc.
With 'When Shall I Be Free?' starts a part, what reminds me so much to Ott's music. Well, it's not by accident, I guess, as Ott helped a lot to make this album. To describe the music precisely, I tell you that its base is tribal ambient and dub with a lot of psychedelism and reggae. Very very interesting and positive!
It is strange to see that 'Invocation' is almost at the half of the disc! As you know, invocation is always at the start of something. It is a very beautiful and melancholic track anyway, and in my point of view, has a very good position in the middle of the disc. A short relax between two powerful kicks.
Track 15 and 16 are really breaky and pathetic. Track 17 is a gloomy part with a flute line in it. Do you remember Flute Fruit on the previous album? Now, Exhalation is very same to it - and do I have to say how marvellous? Raja Ram's play is awesome.
The last three track is a very dinamic finish. Its style is almost drum'n'bass as it is faster than breakbeat, but as it's easier than DnB, I could describe it jungle. And those guitars in them... WOW! Nice and gentle close to an interesting, colorful and very complex album by two absolutely talented musicians.

Shpongle has done once again. The third album is definitely not weaker than the previous two. What's more, maybe it is even better and more amazing!
Must buy!

I hope that Nothing Last.. would not be the end of Shpongle project. However I do not dare to estimate which way of musical expression they would follow next. Common opinion is that the first opus was more psy and deep ambient, while the second one was more world music-like. The third one seems to be combination of them both.
It´s not about the amount of tracks. For me, every album has been one long track - and I usually don´t listen to it separately, because then it loses a bit of its magic.
Especially whole Nothing Last.. is one, complex piece of art. You can find everything and anything you want. No genre or style has appropriate name for Simon & Raja, and if you still doubt what style is Are You Shpongled? and what is the difference on Tales Of Inexpressible, listen to Nothing Last.. and you will get lost completely. Outstanding.

A fitting finale to the shpongle trilogy...

Many are not happy with Shpongle's turn away from World music (Tales of the Inexpressible). But this is their return to roots. There's not many albums this close to defining a psychadelic experience. Others are not happy with the concept of 20 tracks. I find it very interesting... If you read an interview with Simon he talks how the idea for this album was to bring back the dream experience with recurring themes. THerefore some tracks sound similar to the other.

All in all this is a perfect end to Shpongle. I couldnt have asked those guys more. 3 incredible albums, hundreds of moods explored.... Shpongle is definitely a part of my life.


[ RIP ]

Well, another beautiful item in my cd collection. Very good album. Good quality of music but i have a couple of objections like, I'd prefer that the music in it was not devided to 20. I don't understand the artist's statement in this. Another thing is that, ok the album has ups and downs, but when you listen to the great ups then the downs Simon & Raja created to use are very difficult for my ears to accept and understand (please note that i do not want to critisize the artist's creation, I'm just expressing my impression). To be real the album captured me and this is why I got into the trouble to submit my comment! In the end I suggest it to everyone who has open mind to music and music's borders although I find it less inspired than their previous (must-have) masterpiece!