If there's one thing I can say about Mr. Tobin, it's that his albums with Ninja Tune truly show artistic development. He started off with a solid jazz footing in Bricolage, but with Permutation, Supermodified, and now this fourth album, he's moved further and further away from that foundation. Heck, on this album, he pretty much abandons it.

When an album starts off like this one does, you know you're in for something good. "Back From Space" sets the tone, letting the world know that the master is back. Then "Verbal" (featuring MC Decimal R.) comes on, and proves to be the most straight-up fun tune that Tobin has put his hands on. Admittedly, the concept of cut-up vocals was previously done by Prefuse 73, but at least Amon admits it.

If you're wondering what would happen if "Get Your Snack On" and "Four Ton Mantis" got together and had a child, "Chronic Tronic" answers your question in style, baby. It's totally funked-up and danceable to boot. It segues into "Searchers, which is haunting to say the least. The mere thought of Tobin touching strings brings joy to my ears, so imagine how I feel when I hear the result.

Tobin then pulls a surprise from his hat with "Hey Blondie." It's like no Tobin tune I've ever heard; it actually sounds a fair bit like R.E.M.'s "Drive." "Rosies" comes next, and it's an album highlight; it starts off all innocent, but then it shows its true colours and compels you to bob your head along with it.

The next tune, "Cosmo Retro Intro Outro," is straight out of left field. A casual listener might think that this is an underproduced tune by The Chemical Brothers or Fatboy Slim. As it stands, it's quite a nice surprise to hear Tobin doing an overtly dancefloor-friendly tune. But that's where the friendliness ends...

"Triple Science" could have come straight from a horror movie - the part where you're in a haunted house and you're opening a creaky door which is hiding some pretty nasty stuff behind it. The effects and the drums give a sese of urgency, like something is about to happen. That something is "El Wraith," the nastiest track on this whole album. It's dark from beginning to end; if you previewed the first two minutes of this at the Ninja Tune website, you have no idea what you're in for.

"Proper Hoodidge" starts to bring a close to the madness, but it's no less eerie. It vaguely reminds me of "Saboteur," but without the clinking bottles. Finally, "Mighty Micro People" serves its purpose well as "ending credits" music; it's calmer than the preceding nightmare, but definitely not wimpy.

There aren't too many artists who can put out one brilliant album in the space of their careers. Witness an artist who, with "Out From Out Where," has put out FOUR (I haven't heard "Adventures In Foam" so I can't comment on that). I always worry that Amon won't be able to step up his game when he puts his next album out. I mean, when you set the bar so high with each release, to set it even higher is pretty much the equivalent of Jesus walking on water again. However, it's safe to say that Amon's got wet feet, 'cause with "Out From Out Where," that bar has been raised yet again. Simply put, no one does it better.


Still in orbit   October 16, 2002
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

Amon Tobin has got to be one of Ninja Tune's most versatile artists (kinda tough to do on a label that boasts so much talent!); with his previous albums, he embraced the world of free jazz and breakbeat and neatly turned it on its head. Although I prefer his work as Cujo (Adventures in Foam has now been released by 3 different labels: Ninebar, Shadow, and now as a superior reissue by Ninja Tune!), I have to say that 'Out From Outwhere', while a stirring departure compared to his other works, is definitely another breakthrough album for Tobin. It still carries his trademark chaotic beats, but the atmosphere he creates is a bit more focused than on his earlier albums. Listen to it a few times, and you'll get what I'm saying. I won't try to tell you what the album 'sounds like'...that would be foolish. You just need to hear it for yourself. I'll just say that it's a wondrously symphonic piece of art.
I also disagree with the URB review; this is not an album for TV commercials, of all things. Albums like this are meant for your ears and feet, meant to be processed over and over again, and the images wrought from its synthesis in your brain are meant to be completely open to interpretation...I for one don't want to hear one of his songs and think of some automobile ad...do you?
Am I delving into his music too much? Perhaps. However, whether you agree or disagree with my opinions, it's hard to contest that Out From Out Where isn't worthy of the moniker "intelligent dance music". To my ears, Tobin has also reinvented that term as well.


+1/2 star - Experimentation over coherence   November 2, 2002
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I hate to rain on the parade by docking a half star from the uniformly glowing reviews offered up so far (well, one star, since Amazon.com doesn't allow halfs), but this feels like a crossroads. This isn't a bad thing by any means: a cursory glance at my cd collection would betray an arguable OVERvaluation of experiment. It's just that the "Verbal" single (specifically, the three extra tracks) seemed to point toward a continuation of "Supermodified"'s remarkable smoothing out of Amon Tobin's music without sacrificing the complexity of the overall structural framework. A lot of this was accomplished with beats dropped at greater intervals and tied together by sustained melodies and textures. I was disappointed with that album at first, so perhaps this one will grow on me as well. The hyperactivity of "Permutation" (still my favorite) is back on this new disc, to a certain extent. However, the furious chattering breaks are arranged in digressive clusters that incorporate more electro and edgy digital noise elements than before; whereas "Permutation" often built the rhythms up to a nearly absurd density before releasing into a dreamlike lounge haze. My extracurricular activities are much less "hazy" these days, so it's possible that my laser-like focus on the parts (over the whole) has created discontinuity through dissection. Still, this disc feels less of a piece than Mr. Tobin's earlier works. Of course, this also means that the seeds of future directions here are manifold. Remember my extra 1/2 star: it's still a stellar achievement from an electronica frontrunner whose past excellence set the bar so high.


Not a big fan   January 13, 2005
 5 out of 22 found this review helpful

It's not that I can't appreciate the programming skills of Amon Tobin, I just don't like this music. Besides, it looks like most of the reviews given to this album on this site are all from his fans. So I wanted to give the other perspective. Don't let anyone tell you this is d'n'b, cuz its not. There a few tunes with quicker beats but these songs could all be classified as downtempo industrial. They're all about 80 bpm, and have the "banging on a steel barrel in a warehouse" feel, and are all somewhat atmospheric. In the first song, he shamelessly rips off Tomita's awesome electronic cover of Claire de Lune. He gives the song its own title, but it should have been titled as a remix. So there you have it, the other perspective.


Amon Tobin-*****   September 29, 2004
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Amon Tobin- an artist in his own realm. Creative, fantasy driven, hallucinagen, smooth, abrupt. Mixing different chemicals to create an all around unique and fresh sound upon every album, while maintaining the flavor that is strictly his own. This music is in my mind perfect for soundtracks. I write, I only write good stuff while listening to Amon Tobin. I recommend not one, but all of the albums. Creativity at its best.