When ambient house pioneers the Orb returned from an extended hiatus with 2005's cheekily titled OKIE DOKIE IT'S THE ORB ON KOMPAKT, few were prepared to behold that album's near complete assimilation to modern minimal and ambient dance styles. If Orb front man Alex Paterson's signature dub-inflected sound collages were all but missing on OKIE DOKIE, they are back in fine form for the group's follow-up, THE DREAM. Sounding like vintage chill-out Orb circa 1991, the album benefits greatly from an added sonic range courtesy of U.K. production powerhouse, Youth. The title track "The Dream," features a full battery of muscular break beats--no doubt beefed up considerably by Youth--that drive against the ethno-soul diva styled female vocals. But far from being a mere rave-era career retread, Paterson and company seek to put their own distinctive hybrid-making stamp on newer rhythms, as evidenced in the anthemic orchestral-reggaeton send-up of "Mother Nature."

The Word (magazine) (p.107) - "Having lately dabbled in the likes of minimal electronica, Dr Alex Paterson gets back to what he does best here and the result is the most sensual and entertaining Orb album in some years."

URB (Magazine) (p.85) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Ever-present is the exotic, Eastern-sounding instrumentation and random dialogues sounding as if lifted from obscure cinema; and 'Katskills' is, quite simply, a killer, purist Orb track."