Pomme Fritz

(right). In the early 1990s, The Orb pioneered the style ambient house, fusing dub basslines and house beats with atmospheric, psychedelic soundscapes. Their Top 30-charting debut album ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991) received critical acclaim, and this continued with their second album U.F.Orb'' (1992), which also saw the group's commercial zenith, reaching number one in the UK Albums Chart. Recorded in London and Berlin from 1993 to 1994 using an expensive budget on behalf of Island, Kris Weston's role in the Orb, meanwhile, became greatly diminished, as he is credited only as an engineer. ==Composition==

Pomme Fritz sees the Orb abandon their melodic, ambient dub sound and accessible dance beats in favour of a more aggressive sound, scrambled voices, Opening track "Pomme Fritz (Meat 'N Veg)" is reminiscent of krautrock and is constructed around chimes with overlapping elliptical guitar and low frequency bass figures. "Bang 'er 'N' Chips" features shuffling beats, ==Release==

According to Paterson, the Orb locked Island's A&R staff member in their studio with an acid tab to listen to Pomme Fritz after its completion. He reflected: "An hour later he came out and said, 'This is godlike – I have to have it', and this was his first release for Island." As is evident by its subtitle ''The Orb's Little Album'', Although no singles were released from the album, it debuted and peaked at number 6 in the UK Albums Chart, making it one of the group's highest charting albums, On 24 June 2008, a "Remastered and Expanded" edition of the album was released by Universal Music, containing a bonus disc of five bonus remixes. According to one writer: "The remixes here, including a typically fluid reinterpretation by Thomas Fehlmann, provide further genetic mutations of Pomme Fritz's strange lifeforms." ==Critical reception==

Pomme Fritz challenged the Orb's fan base, and similarly perplexed critics. Among retrospective reviews; Derek Walmsley of The Quietus felt the album was one of the Orb's "greatest achievements," describing it as a "concise yet bewilderingly multi-layered statement." James Ferguson of Trouser Press, who felt the album seemed "vaguely angry" and bore an "impenetrable gloom," wrote that it was "glaringly obvious that Paterson had grown weary of the music that he helped to codify," while Resident Advisor felt the album "[tested] the boundaries of electronica." An editor in the Rolling Stone Album Guide feels the album "[doodles] amiably" and is largely short on ideas but praises the "charming" title track. Audio felt the album, with its "bleak industrial tones," pinpointed where Paterson began to "lose his way." John Bush of AllMusic similarly felt that the album provided the first hint "that the Orb might have taken their work a bit too far," and considered "Alles Ist Schoen", with its "beautiful ambient grooves", to be the album's highlight. ==Legacy and aftermath==

Critics dispirited by Paterson's direction on Pomme Fritz began to unfavourably compare him to "acid casualty" Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, and the album ultimately became the first of several "perplexing and difficult" albums that challenged the Orb's closest fans, followed shortly by the accompanying side-project album FFWD (1994), which continued to split fans between those enjoying their new direction and those who "cried over the loss of old Orb," according to the Spin Alternative Record Guide. In an interview with The Wire, Richard Norris of Psychic TV compared "We're Pastie to Be Grill You" to Brian Eno and the Residents, and its intro to Joe Meek's "I Hear a New World". Paterson would later refer to Pomme Fritz as a personal favourite, In an interview with Paterson, Sean O'Neil of Philadelphia City Paper felt that the album was "amazing" and "extraordinarily ahead of its time," while Paterson himself concurred it was "about five years too early." Reflecting upon the album to Jonny Mugwump of The Quietus, who called the album "really out-there processed noise," Paterson said: ==Track listing==

Side one • "Pomme Fritz (Meat 'N Veg)" – 9:04 • "More Gills Less Fishcakes" – 8:05 • "We're Pastie To Be Grill You" – 7:15 Side two • "Bang 'Er 'N Chips" – 7:47 • "Alles Ist Schoen" – 7:17 • "His Immortal Logness" – 2:03 ==References==