808 State - Don Solaris (CD)

An underrated album if ever there was one, a seamless and beautiful work of electronic music, 808 didn't take the dark path, and start pumping the lifeless, unimaginative corporate schlock that began taking over the "techno" genre about this time (mid-90s), but that's a good thing. The album is very soft and pleasing sounding, apart from the harsh rhythms and rolling beat of 'Bond' with Soul Coughing's Matt Doughty's aggressive vocals, and also final track 'Banacheq' which is a breakbeat track full of squalls and noise. But on tracks like 'Bird' and 'Black Dartangnon' the saxophone of Graham Massey comes to the fore and has a huge, soothing effect and lends the album a more mature feel, which came as a refreshment in an age which was dominated by lager, lager, lager!