Album Review: Orbital – Optical Delusion

Euphoric, Hypnotic and Hopeful

Orbital’s recently released album, Optical Delusion, is a fast-paced, riveting work that contains elements of dubstep, hip-hop and retro synthesizers. The music is playful, yet contains some dark tones that are not easily able to be picked up. The elaborate makeup of each song gives the album a sci-fi, fantasy video game quality. The sound could easily be described as hypnotic, and is strongly intriguing.

Though this album has an overall lighthearted feeling, it makes several political references to the current times the world is facing. A lot of the lyrics hint toward the damage that COVID-19 has caused on modern-day society and cities all around the world. There is an undertone of chaos in the album that gives the music its heart-racing quality. Even some of the song titles on the album, such as “Day One,” “Are You Alive?” and “The New Abnormal,” allude to apocalyptic scenarios, making it clear how Orbital feels about the current times in which we live.

The vocals on this album are light and airy, yet are distorted at times to emphasize the rage at the current political climate. The record also includes some operatic vocals as well, which makes the music feel somewhat euphoric, despite the dark undertones that are ever-present throughout each song. The vocals add an edge of uncertainty to help further convey the feelings of fear and anxiety. There is a vulnerability in the voices that lends a human quality to this electronic album.

Optical Delusion manages to give a light-hearted and deceivingly happy sound to music that is a dark reflection of today’s world. The result is unsettling yet moving. Audiences everywhere can surely sympathize with the messages about the effects of the recent pandemic that are woven into this album. There are feelings of longing and insecurity, but there is also joy and hope, as the music alludes to the future and the possibilities it holds. This album has captured all the feelings and mixed emotions that accompany the times we live in, helping to comfort those who may be uncertain of the times approaching.