Reviewed by James Attlee

This is the third instrumental chapter in the Archives so far to emanate from the secret hideaway of one Vince Millett, an eccentric hermit living by some strange accident in twentieth century Croydon. The music he makes with the help of his synthesiser is hard to describe to the uninitiated, but as the man's prolific, I'm getting plenty of practice. Vince himself on the inlay card describes S.A.O.T.V. as 'world music - from a different world!' which is a pretty fair description. He has indeed invented a parallel universe from which this music comes, as unreal blend of the medieval, the prehistoric, the Biblical and the oriental. Tracks with titles like "Ton Of Twisted Gold", "Craneskin Bag", "The Lost Tribes Of Albion" and "Eclipse Over Golgotha" each almost sound like a particular sort of music but end up sounding like the folk tunes of a lost tribe, of which several are reputed to dwell in Croydon. Enough of this nonsense - Vince includes helpful liner notes explaining the album, track by track. For instance "Craneskin bag. In that place one who loves without return is held in high honour. All his broken dreams are kept forever in a craneskin bag." Got it?

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