Sound Check — Geoff Carter: ‘Autumn’ makes summer seem that much longer

Friday, Aug. 11, 2000 | 9:07 a.m.

Geoff Carter's music column appears Fridays. Reach him at carter@ vegas.com

I don't like this weather at all. Come August I'm thinking of December. I love Vegas' people, history and bars, but you can take these 110-degree Sundays and stick 'em in your hibachi. The only reason I don't leave Vegas completely between June and October is because of the job, and because I've come to depend on summer colds to put me in bed for at least one night out of the week.

Given these circumstances -- hang on a minute, the mouse has melted to my hand -- it's not surprising I'd find sweet relief in a song called "Autumn Tactics." As written, produced and performed by Chicane (nee Nick Bracegirdle), it's as potent a cure for boiled brains as scattered clouds and a chance of showers in the late afternoon, with a high of 50 degrees. As I listen to it now I have the air-conditioner cranked down to 50 and I'm wearing my winter coat, pining for the fjords.

"Autumn Tactics" is a wonderful, strange little thing. It's got a beat substantial enough to move a dance floor, yet is subdued enough to play under a wine tasting. It is wistful and sentimental, even as vocalist Justine Suissa shivers, "Winter's one breath away / it's turning cold."

As it turns out, "Autumn Tactics" is just one delicious paradox in a collection ripe with them. In the critical quest to find and declare "this year's Moby," Chicane's "Behind the Sun" is a spoiler; it is as splendidly original and enjoyable a dance record as "Play" and should push trance onto radio. I can't imagine anyone being immune to its charms, and it packs more surprises even than Moby's platinum opus.

Case in point: You could listen to the epic trance track "Don't Give Up" a hundred times before you'd even suspect that the sleek, alluring Eurovoice driving it belongs to Canadian meat-and-potatoes rocker Bryan Adams. It's a strange choice for a dance track, but one that makes perfect sense once you hear it. His turn on "Don't Give Up" is perfectly natural, and affecting in a way I could never previously imagine from the man who brought "Cuts Like a Knife" into the world.

"Don't worry if the sun don't shine / you've seen it before," sings Adams over pulsing beats and wowing synths. Chicane helps Adams to turn a corner, and strangely enough, it sounds like he'd already turned it some time ago.

There are other highlights: last year's massive club hit "Saltwater," featuring Maire Brennan of Clannad; the percolating instrumental "Overlap," which I fully expect to hear played over Olympic highlights; the gorgeous "Low Sun," a must for anyone who loves Brian Eno, Deep Forest or life itself. There's isn't a bad leaf on the tree -- every one of them has turns beautifully from green to gold.

The album's only drawback is its brevity. Nine songs and two remixes isn't necessarily a short set, but when music feels this good, you want it to last as long as possible. Say, perhaps, until October.