Way Out West - Way Out West

Deconstruction: 1997

Even if I came to the Way Out West party a bit later than others, I was still aware of breakout classics like The Gift and Ajare. Having gotten an enjoyable taste of their later productions, it's time I return to the source, their self-titled debut, for the full story. No longer another in a long line of 'whenever I get to it' cases, let's hear some vintage proggy-breaks action as it was blossoming. Throw this bad boy on the digital jukebox then!

Uh huh, uh huh... uh huh... ah, hmm. Umm... is it just me, or does this album sound a rather bit... cluttered?

I think the aforementioned tunes, plus Intensify, spoiled me because truth be told, I hadn't heard much else off this record. Am I once again dashing my expectations? I mean, I kinda' do get tracks of equal calibre, but there's a lack of polish I wasn't prepared for. It's like, Nick and Jody had heard what BT and Blue Amazon were doing, wanted to do the same, but over-stepped what they were actually capable of. They shot for 'immaculate brilliance' when all that was needed was 'damn fine great'.

Blue sets us off on a nice enough footing, more of a chill, Balearic opener with funky drumming, piano flourishes, and flange effects – nothing too overt. The Gift does its lovely little thing in bridging the realms of atmospheric jungle and Ibiza bliss (oh hi, Joanna Law, I remember you from that Coldcut set), then Domination gets this party properly started. It certainly aims at being an epic prog-house outing with many segments building upon the last, but I dunno, it feels like it does too much with all the samples, key changes, beat changes, breakdowns, bridges, and superfluous drippy water sounds.

And this permeates in the following clutch of tracks, such that I'm actually distracted by it rather than letting things flow as Way Out West mean them too. There are things I like in each of them: Dancehall Tornado has a nifty eerie segment towards its end; the piano bridge and vocal sample in Questions Never Answered is some of the best work I've heard from these chaps; the final stretch of Sequoia is prog-trance action at its finest. There's just so much else going on in these tracks that don't build to them in any significant way. If you need an example of where 'simpler is better', just gander at Ajare here, their peppy prog-house hit built around a singular, wonderful vocal sample. All the musical flourishes feed off it, rather than run off doing their own thing. Yes, even the record scratches!

Way Out West is a solid album, still among the best you're gonna' find in this era of progressive house/trance/breaks. It's only true fault is perhaps being a bit of a bandwagon jump of what was popular within those circles (including one (1) big-beat tune), but eh, history's proven that's the Way Out West manifesto anyway.

Way Out West - Don't Look Now

Distinct'ive Records: 2004

(a Patreon Request from Philoi)

Like Hybrid, I never thought I'd dig into the discography of Way Out West. I liked the odd track I'd hear from them, but the general discourse of “each album is less interesting than the last” didn't inspire much curiosity from yours truly. Still, I took a chance on Intensity, quite enjoyed it, and will get around to their self-titled debut in due time. Meanwhile, I'm here reviewing by request Don't Look Now. Hey, that was, like, one of TranceCritic's first ever reviews! Let us never speak of it again.

Way Out West were often fancied prog-house taste-makers, helping usher in a young prog-breaks scene while Nick Warren handled a pile of Global Underground sets. There's very little taste-making going on with this album though, the duo clearly hearing the winds of change, hitching their wagon to the emergent McProg sound of the mid-'00s. They even went out and got their own vocalist, billed here as Omi (Lord Discogs tells me she performed as Emma Hall with Starecase prior).

This could have been a great album, easily on par with their older works – Nick and Jody remain talented producers no matter how 'basic' their songcraft gets. However, it feels like the sequencing of Don't Look Now is totally borked. It starts as you'd expect of a group trying to get on that Hybrid-prestige, Anything But You a decent prog-breaks outing while letting Omi do her thing. All momentum of the album is sucked out, however, with a watery trip-hop follow-up. Plus, if you came in already feeling suspect about Omi turning into a major focal point (centre-spot on the cover art doesn't help), this wouldn't have allayed your worries. Never mind she doesn't appear much after (only three more songs out of twelve total), the front-loaded impression is difficult to shake.

The middle run of tracks are all serviceable stabs at various forms of prog (house/breaks/slowbeat?) but I cannot deny my attention often drifting as they play. Chasing Rainbows' languid pace and dreamy guitars are quite nice, while Fear triggers all the right McProg-enjoying endorphins lurking somewhere in the recesses of my brain.

Still, I feel stupid for not really getting into this album until Killa, just because it's such a simple, dumb-fun tune (those chants! D'at thunderous beat!), your reptile brain can't help but take notice. From there, more intuitive breaks action comes care of Northern Lights (the sort of science some undoubtedly expected from the start), while Melt is a pleasant little ditty for Omi to take us out on. Oh, wait, they got Ulrich Schnauss with them for the actual closer, Absinthe Dreams a weirdo trip-hop session that certainly fits the title.

Regardless of how folks reacted to Don't Look Now, it ended up being a one-time outing. Omi would never return, while Nick and Jody split off for solo pursuits for half a decade. It does hold up better than most commercial prog of the day, but that's not a terribly high bar to pass.

Way Out West - Intensify

Nettwerk: 2001

Far as I'm concerned, Way Out West has always been that duo who supplied solid tunes to a solid progressive set, or could class up a cheesy trance set. But because their album output has been so sporadic (five in two decades!), the solo careers of Nick Warren and Jody Wisternoff has generated more talk than the Way Out West legacy. For sure they had a brilliant run at the start, among the top rated acts in the nascent progressive house (trance/breaks) scene. Even then, however, it was clear they didn't need each other for sustainable careers. Mr. Warren was an established DJ on the UK circuit, while Mr. Wisternoff had a respectable discography under his belt before teaming up with Nick. Still, when they hit the studio back in the '90s, it was clear they had great synergy in crafting creative, deadly dancefloor weapons.

Success does create pressure in at least considering cross-over potential though, a tempting possibility for Way Out West following the turn of the Millennium. Like, if Hybrid could throw in a few vocals to critical plaudits, why not them as well? Surely folks would buy a collaboration with Kirsty Hawkshaw here, and a voice from Tricia Lee Kalshall there. And just in case their older followers weren't keen, you can win them over by sampling a bona-fide '90s classic in Coldcut's Autumn Leaves for the lead single in The Fall. That'll get those nostalgia triggers firing!

Shocking pilfering aside, The Fall is fine for what it is, a thumping prog-house anthem with a familiar hook to sing along to. Mindcircus was rather played out back in the day, but retains some charm all these years later, and Stealth works as a mid-album trip-hop breather. Really though, we're here for those propulsive prog-house/breaks (trance) cuts the Way Out West brand was built on, and the lads behind the moniker don't disappoint in the slightest. Activity's got a killer, clanking beat with a tasteful ethnic wail, Call Me works in a pounding prog groove, Hypnotise gets more floaty and break-beaty (paging Dr. Hybrid, yo'), and Sharkhunt... damn, is this ever some tasty-as-fuck sci-fi funk! It's a travesty this cut didn't get the EP treatment.

Okay, UB Devoid is a solid choice for “Big Banger Single From New Album”. It's almost doing a psy-trance thing for its first half, indulging in brief melodic passages, samples, and weird sounds for their own sake. The second-half goes down more traditional prog-house paths, but are mint in their own right. Can you believe this track's not even five-minutes long? Who crams that much music into a five-minute dance tune?

Finishing up, Secret hints at the burgeoning James Holden influences (grumbly low-end, twinkly highs), while the two-parter titular cut sums up most of the album's highlights. Unless you just can't stand prog-trance (breaks/house) of this era, there's nothing to fault with Intensify. It may not be as ground-breaking as their '90s output, but remains a great collection of tunes to this day.