Wagon Christ ‎– Tally Ho!

Hailing from Cornwall, England, Luke Vibert started his career early by releasing a debut album with Jeremy Simmonds on Richard D. James' Rephlex Records in 1993. He then moved on to Rising High Records releasing an ambient album Phat Lab Nightmare under an alias Wagon Christ. In 1996, Luke tried his hand at drill'n'bass with an alias Plug releasing Drum 'n' Bass for Papa on Blue Planet. Luke finally landed on Astralwerks - a Virgin Records owned New York label known for main stream electronic acts such as Basement Jaxx, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, Future Sound of London and the likes. Tally Ho! is Vibert's sixth full length album (third under Wagon Christ moniker) to come out on Astralwerks in 1998. Luke's sound fits in nicely alongside the friends and artists that defined the late 90's electronica, such as Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, µ-ziq and Cylob. "Together they assimilated such diverse elements as hip hop beats and drum & bass into the more eccentric take on electronica they tweaked, and kick-started a virtual insurrection in sound around the world," notes journalist Andrez Bergen. Tally Ho! is a perfect example of more stylistic exploration under the electronica umbrella, where jungle meets trip-hop, and new genres emerge. The sound is upbeat, confident and playful at the same time. Luke's other notable aliases among the many are Kerrier District, Amen Andrews and Ace of Clubs with a deep discography on defining labels such as Warp, Ninja Tune and Planet-µ. In 2007 Luke collaborated with Jean-Jacques Perrey on Moog Acid project for Lo Recordings. I think I did more name-dropping in this review than talk about the music, but I trust you get the idea. Five stars for this one.

This was my introduction to the work of Luke Vibert after hearing a remix he did of NIN's The Perfect Drug.The album begins with the chilled trip-hop of Fly Swat which then moves on to more dancey(but still chilled)songs such as Crazy Disco Party and Shimmering Haze.There's little bits of drum n' bass and various samples inserted into the album,which makes the perfect listen for a hot summer day.

God, where do I start? This is one of the definitive points in the 1990s musical soundscape. In a decade that ran the gamut from ultra-depressing lows (Nirvaner and Bush - the band, not the President, though he too was an ultra-depressant) to stark-raving HIGHS such as this one, and I of course left a good many of both out, this is a defining point in 1990s music. Many will find it just too damn happy and positive for their Prozac-inflicted tastes, but fuck them - the world needs much MUCH more music like this. A sparkling array of top-quality musicianship and dazzling production polish, this is what a good finished musical product should sound like. I've said it so many damn times I'm already blue in the face, but Luke Vibert is a musical genius! He is accomplished in the art of effective drum pattern-building, he knows and skillfully applies melodies and flawless composition and actually utilizes the proper elements of music arrangement such as (gasp!) chord changes, and his knowledge of effective bassline composition puts him up there with some of the most accomplished bass players. Yes, he is a prodigy and this release really effectively shows it. As I stated earlier, many will disagree, but piss on them - this is music for those who are comfortable with happiness and know love and joy. Nirvaner and Bush were the soundtrack for the Prozac Generation. Lest I forget that all-time classic band Smashing Pumpkins - think about it - Smashing Pumpkins - that's what kids do when they throw a temper tantrum, they smash things and break them. Real mature. And Billy Corgin's voice? Huh - uh, yeah. I always thought he sounded like an overgrown little boy who was fighting off tears after losing an argument with the class nerd. Musically? Ever see them live? Yeah. The guy had no talent. That's why this album was a definitive moment of the 1990s. We needed something to reverse the phase of all that freakin' Prozac music! Not all of us are totally depressed, Billy. We need Luke Viberts to give us something to smile about. Thank God Luke was there for us!