Minimal Man has been hyping Osbourne for more than a month now, and I have to fall in line and call this some magical shit. From the opening moments of "Ruling(1)," you'll get that warm sunshine feeling that the cover art captures so well. Yes, this isn't that cold techy stuff that Spectral usually is know for, but rather, "Ruling" is some feelgood Body and Soul style vocal house. "Downtown(2)" backs it up with some of the most beautiful chord work I've heard (Larry Heard would be proud). The b-side doesn't falter one bit starting with "16th Stage(3)," a simplistic electronic track that conjures up childhood nostalgia and underground new wave. For the final visit, Osborne roughens it up a bit with a tribal-italo-oddity entitled "Fresh." Indeed. Recommended.

reviewed by the mgmnt