Faithless have always been a hard act to pin down. The critically acclaimed, award winning, internationally popular, multi-million selling collective specialise in genre-busting music aimed at the head, heart and feet, encompassing a range of sounds and styles that simply defies easy categorization. They have balanced four-to-the-floor classic house hits ("Insomnia", "Salva Mea", "God Is A DJ", "We Come One”) with poetic works of lyrical genius ("Bring My Family Back", "Muhammad Ali"), and heart-rending gospel anthems (Don't Leave). Their albums have embraced soulful spirituality (Reverence 1995) introspective melancholy (Sunday 8pm 1998) and uplifting, emotional atmospherics (Outrospective 2001). Their ever-changing line up has spawned such fabulous offshoots as Britain's queen of pop, Dido, and global video-mix mavericks 1 Giant Leap, as well as a whole strata of underground talent (Skinny, P*nut, Slovo). But if you think, after eight years, a dozen hit singles, three original albums, three remix albums and literally thousands of live shows, you have started to get them worked out, it is time to think again.
NO ROOTS, the fourth album from Faithless, marks a bold new departure: a melodious, free-flowing, seamlessly interlocking electronic soundscape that forms the backdrop to a lyrically uncompromising picture of the state of the human race. Preceded by the highly-charged, politically controversial single "Mass Destruction," this is, unequivocally, their finest hour.
NO ROOTS could be described as a twin-concept album, operating on separate (but complimentary) musical and lyrical levels. To make sense of this, it helps to understand the band's unique line-up. While Faithless' open-door policy has encompassed (and encouraged) a lot of remarkable musical contributions there are three .. [ read more ]

After a decade as one of the world's most successful dance acts, Faithless's distinct sound has put them at risk of becoming dinosaurs. Thankfully No Roots doesn't rest on the laurels of former glory and delivers something quite special. Sister Bliss's shrill, semi-hard-house synth stabs are all but gone, replaced by less dated sounds and more thoughtful use of them. Tempos are lower and song structure plays a more valuable part, for No Roots is in fact only two gigantic, epic songs, with each track a progression on the previous one and clever segues leading into the next. The only song that doesn't fall into "Parts 1 & 2" is the lead single version of "Mass Destruction" tacked on the end; it's a funky, breaks-based tune with Maxi Jazz's trademark vocal (used sparingly throughout the album) over live bass and guitars.. [ read more ] >>

Dance music isn't usually known for its political content. Faithless themselves have spent more time championing the glories of club life than dissecting a world weighted down by war, terrorism, and poverty. That's all changed with No Roots, an ambitious disc that offers sustenance to both body and brain. The focal point is the startling single "Mass Destruction," a brazen study of a boy whose dad goes off to war. Over simmering beats cooked up by Sister Bliss and Rollo (better known for the feel-good tracks he's made for his sister Dido), MC Maxi Jazz lays down a chorus indicting ignorance, racism, greed, and more, with lines like "Whether long range weapon or suicide bomb/ A wicked mind is a weapon of mass destruction." Not since Massive Attack or Tricky at his peak has .. [ read more ] >>