Volume 2

Heavy-duty electronics doing repeatedly bloody battle with grimy strings... An intense but worthwhile experience. [Nov 2000, p.102]

[Richard] Warren still makes great pop music--free of formula but full of character.

Instead of crashing rock and roll and electronica head-on, his integration is a more subtle mix. He's not a pioneer by any means, but Volume Two is testament to his more nuanced approach. On this, his third album, Warren allows the guitars and "real" instruments an equal say, and ends up with music that sounds incredibly intelligent in light of many other clumsy cross-breeding musicians.

Less Casio-centric and nicely encompassing more of the Nottingham native's pop side, Volume 2 is decked out with piano, horns, and a plethora of guitars.

Building on the same base that made his early material brilliant (a love for both odd sounds and cheesy pop), Warren has painted himself into a musical corner: knowing its hard to get any listener to swallow the same thing repeatedly outside the mainstream market, but also wanting to indulge his muse. [#151, p.78]

Volume Two is certainly more cohesive than Volume One, but that doesn't make it the stronger album.... The pop/rock songs here are simply lacking great hooks, though they are quite endearing. While Volume Two is a strong album, Volume One had more ragged, unfocused joys.

Volume 2 features some nice experiments, notably the droning "Schram And Sheddle 262," the Krautrock-cum-punk of "Telstar Recovery" and "High Pitch Needs," and the Eno-pop of "Circulation," but the disc is too diffuse, disjointed, and (in its own sloppy way) derivative to hold together. Interesting ideas abound, though, and Volume 2's lack of cohesion could lead to a breakthrough some time soon, especially considering Warren's rapid evolution and incessant output.

An uninspiring and unnecessary 'experimental' effort, sounding like 'Volume 1' out-takes. [Oct 2000, p.110]