In addition to its sideways move onto his own N- Gram imprint, the fourth in William Orbit's outings as Strange Cargo also enjoyed a moniker adjustment - the numerals replaced with a title and the series umbrella becoming the artist name. Although the slow motion dub low end and crunching breaks, which have characterised the series to date, are still evident, this slight re-branding has the effect of lending a further weight to the project with Hinterland sounding much more like an artist album than its forebears. The ethnic touches that quickly dated Strange Cargo III have been lost to a more cinematic approach well suited to the spacious soundscapes and crystal clear production of the material, "Montok Point" in fact picked up for the soundtrack of Val Kilmer movie Red Planet. Beth Orton features again in the creaking breaks and foggy guitar strikes of "She Cries Your Name" while fans of the ambient elements of Orbit's work will be more than satisfied by the trio of tracks which provide a gentle close to an enjoyable album. -- Kingsley Marshall
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
My favorite William Orbit album Can't buy this in USA. I swear we have such a provincial and limited scope of awareness in this country. Anyway, easy enough to pop over here and buy it.
This album is very refined and sublime. It slowly grew on me for about a year, then sort of leveled off to a still very high appreciation level. The masterful craftsmanship and studio acuity serve to puctuate the quality of the art.
A Fine Example of Chilled Ambient I have been a fan of William Orbit from an early age, and have to say I believe this is his most mature work to date (this and Pieces in a Modern Style). This album is a prime example for anyone wanting to fine out about chill-out music. After the most ambient offerings of his first three Strange Cargo albums, Orbit has headed for a more cinematic feel to his music, with less electronic sounds and more natural-sounding songs. The tracks themselves are all very good. Million Town and Hinterland include... more info
Definitely worth buying this album. I have been a big fan of William Orbit since back in my university days, I would say that this is his best album release, probably only the first in the Strange Cargo series comes close.
I have come back to this album so many times, there really are no particularly bad tracks at all although Montok Point is probably worth skipping past. It is full of some wonderfully haunting sounds and great guitar work (particularly on El Ninjo - my favourite track by far).
I guess this does fit in under the general... more info
Excellent! It's hard to decide which is better, Strange Cargo III or this latest offering by William Orbit. I strongly suggest you buy both. Strange Cargo and Strange Cargo II, are also both worth a listen but if you don't already own them, I would suggest just buying his 'Very Best Of' Album instead, as his latest albums are far better. I bought Strange Cargo Hinterland (along with S.C. III) while at Uni and they are both still amongst my favourites.
