Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 11/29/2005
Bonobo's
Simon Green revealed himself as something of a beat-head with 2003's
Dial "M" for Monkey, and he solidifies his breakbeat credentials with the seventh volume of
Ninja Tune's
Solid Steel series.
It Came from the Sea is a very fraternal venture; the vast majority of the tracks come from
Green himself, his colleagues at
Ninja Tune or
Tru Thoughts (the latter of which released his first album), or fellow Brighton natives like
Black Grass. It's clear that
Green has been earning his fees at DJ'ing gigs around the world; he has a great ear for an excellent track, and his mixing skills thrust him into the rare company of his fellow
Solid Steel mixers
DJ Food and
Amon Tobin. The mix isn't as exciting or innovative as previous volumes, and it fails to resurrect more than one forgotten nugget, but
Green atones partly for the absence with gripping tracks like the next-generation
Afrobeat of
"Munchies" by
Belgradeyard Sound System, or his own new
Bonobo production,
"Pick Up." The one nugget -- a 1972 free-
fusion interlude from
Cannonball Adderley that could only have emerged from the Age of Aquarius -- is a gem, and
It Came from the Sea upholds the high standards of
Solid Steel.
~John Bush, All Music Guide