Thomas Dolby
Map of the Floating City
Lost Toy People
Iβve never been a big fan of the whole β80s synth-sound. For me the word βmusicβ gathers in itself a different connotation: dark guitar riffs, drum beats, alluring lead singers with croaky voices, and the smell of beer and cigarettes.
Thomas Dolbyβs Map of the Floating City is neither a Rock album, nor has anything to do with the β80s Pop sound that he is famous for. The division of the album in three parts is a quite interesting experience. Amerikana, Urbanoia and Oceana reflect three separate periods of Dolbyβs life and you can hear that in every song, which sounds completely different from the previous one. Itβs an album that has it all. From Country to Folk, Oriental rhythms to Balkan sounds; itβs like a bouquet, a colourful mixture of different cultures. This is an album full of surprises. When listening for the first time and until the last song you keep wondering whatβs going to come next. Here I put an end to everything good that I can say about this record.
βNothing New Under the Sunβ is actually nothing new under the sun. Itβs a little bit shocking when you hear for the first time a song that gathers in itself a bad interpretation of Goran Bregovic, a cheesy Bollywood movie theme song and a Pop hit from the β80s. Yes, this is all in the same song. βSpice Trainβ took me on a journey through all my worst nightmares, when it comes to βhow-not-to-doβ music.
If you listen to this album a sufficient number of times, you can actually find a couple of decent songs that are worth listening to, like βRoad to Renoβ and β17 Hills.β Songs, that you can easily add to your Sunday track list. The bottom point is that,you could give Map of the Floating City a try if you want to, but if youβre not eager to buy the record, you wonβt miss anything much.
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SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THOMAS DOLBY – MAP OF THE FLOATING CITY
Ivelina Dulkova