Faithless: Outrospective : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

U.K. outfit Faithless gained a Stateside cult following with their two previous albums, 1997's Reverence and 1998's Sunday 8 PM, both of which were helmed by electronica producer Rollo (who also happens to be Dido's brother and co-producer of her No Angel album) and his partner, Sister Bliss. The group's sound is a mix of electronic and urban sounds - techno, trance, house, dub, rap - but they've always come off as a poor man's Massive Attack or Portishead, neither as soulful as the former nor as artfully tortured as the latter. Faithless have now slimmed down to a trio, but the lack of identity remains a problem. The new record comes off as a retro-rave throwback; half the songs are slick, coldly produced, beat-driven grooves filled with synth effects, throbbing bass and insipid rapping, while the other half are "chill room" soundtracks - meditative loveliness that's a little too familiar to be wholly satisfying. Tellingly, even the best tracks on the new disc - "Crazy English Summer" and Dido cameo "One Step Too Far," with their sparse production and haunting vocals - are dead ringers for Everything but the Girl's recent fare. Only the funky "Muhammad Ali" (marred by Maxi Jazz's rapping) pushes beyond formula, hinting at what Faithless' new configuration could be if they'd push beyond their influences and find their own voice.

ERNEST HARDY
(RS 875 - August 16, 2001)