Despite boasting a recorded history stretching over two decades and rather enviably once being labelled ‘conceivably the most important band since The Smiths’ by a British press starved on homegrown originality in the early nineties, ‘No-Man’ frustratingly remain a forgotten footnote on the annals of modern Music. Twenty one years after their first official release ‘Mixtaped/Returning’ hopes to provide a comprehensive career-spanning statement whilst also acting as a fascinating insight into one of British Music’s most understated and idealistic acts.

‘Mixtaped’ presents the duo’s first full live performance in over fifteen years featuring an intimately recorded show at London’s modest Bush Hall. Drawing from a diverse palette of electronica, trip hop and progressive jazz, ‘Mixtaped’ captures ‘No-Man’s’ stark surreality perfectly, drifting from art rock to dream pop with relative ease. The ninety minute film emphatically pinpoints ‘No-Man’s’ strengths treating it’s audience to blissed out soundscapes fusing frontman Tim Bowness’ meandering melancholy with minimalist technic touches. ‘Time travel in Texas’ and ‘Pretty Genius’ exude a confident swagger noticeably absent from earlier works proving ‘No-Man’ truly shine when locking into a filthy funk groove and easing off their all too regularly crowded formulae.
For every ray of light ‘Mixtaped’ affords however, a glaring shard of negativity is unearthed. Highlights such as ‘Days in the Trees’ do not carry enough value to forgive the half dozen tracks that lazily sink into a puddle of pretentious self parody. The unfocused fuzz of ‘Carolina Skeletons’ acts as a blueprint to the severe lack of songwriting credentials and the first of many forays into a shallow sheen of indignant self indulgence that has always lay at the core of their sound. In addition ‘No-Man’ are far from a visual force. With very little between song banter and a non-existent stage presence you can’t help but feel ‘Mixtaped’ would have been better suited strictly to an audio release.

The second disc ‘Returning’ is primarily a documentary underscoring the band’s roots from creating experimental sounds in a teenager’s bedroom to near obscurity following the fallout from a failed stab at a mainstream pop career. The understated production makes for a refreshing twist on the big budget blockbuster template of modern ‘Rockumentaries’ whilst offering original Art prints that accompanied the band’s major releases. What is immediately apparent however is ‘No-Man’ don’t really have a captivating ‘warts and all’ tale to tell. Despite the obligatory inter-band tensions and obvious jealousy at Steven Wilson’s successful side project ‘Porcupine Tree’, ‘No-man’ are really just an act that didn’t fit in with their contemporaries. Very little here will present a revelation for long standing followers nor is it likely to usher in a legion of fresh admirers. ‘Returning’s’ main ambition is to plead ‘No-Man’s’ case as an experimental figurehead, the story of two men kicking against the system and breaking new ground to the dissatisfaction of an under appreciative Music scene. In actuality we are left with the feeling of bitterness from a band that would like to be earmarked as pioneers, paving the way for successful acts such as Massive Attack and Portishead when in reality ‘No-Man’ are little more than a hangover from the New Romantic scene that delved ever so slightly into a hip hop inspired hybrid and oversaturated their sound with far too many ill-fitting elements.

Fans of the band will love it, most everyone else will not.

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