The Middle of Nowhere (Orbital album)

Album

The track "Know Where to Run" was featured in the PlayStation game Wipeout 3.

While released on 5 April 1999, it was finished much earlier, and unspecified problems led to the record label delaying its release for nearly 6 months.

Samples

Reception

John Bush of Allmusic noted that "even considering the lack of real progression in sound, Middle of Nowhere reflects the pair once again making all the right moves and not slowing down a bit," giving the album four stars out of five. Mark Bautz's review for Entertainment Weekly concluded that ravers should take note, as the album, "which has the goods to become this summer's feel-good record...will soon be everywhere," giving the album the grade of B+. NME gave the album the score of 8/10 and concluded that "this, if you want it, is therapy. As the boundaries of the future and the beyond are slowly mapped and planned, it's the confines of the skull the Hartnoll brothers are delicately probing here. It might take you a while, but you'll get there in the end. The middle of nowhere is always closer than you think."

Rolling Stone gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying the "songs meld into each other as they would during a DJ set, female vocalists moan in and out of the mix, and syncopated rhythms dance the funky robot. You'll do the same." Almost Cool rated the album 7.5/10, telling readers that "if you've listened to much Orbital at all, the disc will probably sound familiar to you the first time you listen to it. It's not to say that it isn't innovative or interesting, but there's a quality about it like you haven't seen a good friend in awhile and they're just telling you some new stories. If there's ever a electronic music hall-of-fame, these guys had better get in there in a dang hurry," while Spin Magazine noted how "in the high-turnover world of dance culture, Orbital...[craft] tunes that sing in your heart." Perhaps the most praise came from Melody Maker, who awarded the album four and a half stars, telling readers the album is "their best yet."

Marshall Bowden of PopMatters noted that The Chemical Brothers' 2002 track "Hoops" "with its weird Association sample ("Round Again") spun into a minor key acoustic guitar calliope that morphs into a groove not unlike something from Orbital's Middle of Nowhere."

Track listing

All tracks written by Paul Hartnoll & Phil Hartnoll unless stated.