| Artist |
| Boole |
| Title |
| The Vital Few |
| Format/Cat |
| CD DBP08 |
| Label |
| Dancing Bull Prductions |
| Style |
| Hard-edged melodic electro |
| Date of review |
| 11th May 2008 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 7.5/10 |
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It's been six long years since Boole's excellent (albeit criminally ignored by the majority of electro fans) album Pheromones, so this, again self-released follow-up appeared not a minute too soon. Once again, the brothers Barkett, Brad & Mike, are at the helm, being joined by Andy 'Blimpcaptain' Hall with another accessable, even poppy, electro collection. In comparison to their earlier works this is probably less immediate due to the lack of memorable singalong choruses that has been their forte in the past & while the opening double-header of 'Timeline' & 'Wallflower' don't really set the pulse tingling that much 'Anachron' shows what they're really capable of, playing to their established strengths & benefitting still further from an excellent melodic hook & strong rhythms while the pacey & punchy 'Thelema' motors along with some force. It's a varied album, too, as several tracks see them widening their stylistic net & while '2000 And None', which is a dead ringer for the theme from A Question Of Sport (nice to hear the sample from the old arcade game Galaga, though!) & the sickly-sweet 80s bubblegum pop similarities of 'Tabby', do sound a tad twee a sharp contrasted is delivered by the punky aggression of 'Comfort Me (Simulacra)' & the nicely laidback feel that gives 'Sometimes A Girl' a nicely romantic edge (the effect of which might have been even more pronounced if some of the lyrics weren't so strangely phrased!). It also benefits from a few slightly more adventurous touches such as the combination of rocking riffs & bombastic rhythms that make 'Wheel Of Yearning' a really dynamic number although the medieval opening of 'Coup D'Etat' doesn't bear a great resemblance to the pacey, exhuberant track that this later becomes (not that it really matters but I thought I'd mention it!). Add to this the trance-flavoured 'Ghost In The Mirror' which features vocals from 'Nina Yu' & the kicking techno of 'Sasquatch' (with the howls filling in where the sirens would usually be, a neat touch, that) then you've got a varied & enjoyable album; even the unannounced rap track at the end, which throws in every rap cliche you can imagine, has plenty going for it &, if they can pull that off, then you know you're onto a winner!
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