Play 90 second soundbite of 'What We Wanted' @ 'CD quality'
Actually, what Setting Sun does is very hard to pigeonhole; it sits comfortably inside several sub-genre without really conforming to any one in particular. 'Children Of The Wild' takes me all the way back to Kevin Ayers' 'Joy Of A Toy' - an album that was way ahead of its time - 'Children Of The Wild' may not be ahead of its time in the same sense but it definitely has an intangible timelessness about it. There's a sleepy, whispery nursery-rhyme quality to the vocals that sits somewhat juxtaposed to some really modernistic atmospherics that also sit often opposed to the pounding percussive back beats and persuasive rhythms.
Listening to 'Children Of The Wild' is like a voyage of discovery; nothing is what it seems, all is not what it purports to be - it's like taking a bare-back ride across previously uncharted territory; you're always anticipating what comes next and never quite getting it right. But if you just hold tight, the rewards for your unrest and anguish are extremely worthwhile and certainly memorable. Setting Sun is the brainchild of Gary Levitt; quite clearly a master of melodic dynamics, a dextrous and massively competent multi-instrumentalist and a well grounded, slightly surreal urban poet. With a little help from a few 'friends', Levitt pulls it all together and manages to capture just the right amount of sophisticated ambience to offset the pop sensibilities and keep this album believable and accessible without selling out to any particular modern musical idiom - a clever move that opens this brilliant album up to people from practically all musical persuasions and preferences.
'Children Of The Wild' by Setting Sun is a beautifully complex but somehow uncomplicated work that's easy on the ear, good for the heart and even better for the soul. A refined piece of intelligent pop, a modern masterpiece of art-pop, a thoroughly convincing and rewarding trip into a new kind of musical heaven. Stunning - superb!!
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