Who would have guessed that turning down an invitation to be in Oasis could turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to Richard Warren? Just a few months ago, Warren, AKA Echoboy, was offered the job of touring bass player in what was arguably still the biggest rock n’ roll band in the world. And as we now know, he respectfully declined, the position went to former Ride/Hurricane #1 man Andy Bell and now Noel’s off the tour. "Lamest rock n’ roll band on Earth" is now a more fitting description for the makeshift Oasis lot.

Had Warren accepted the job, he wouldn't have had a chance to reap the spoils of his fantastically deviant, not to mention eclectic U.S. debut, Volume 1. This is a record in which Warren has fused elements of dance, rock, trance and folk to create exquisite pieces of crystalline future-leaning pop. Warren could lead a new revolution of lo-fi home-based electronic artists, tirelessly honing their craft in basements and bedrooms rather than in clubs and pubs. Volume 1 has a distinctly lived-in feeling about it, from the whirring keyboards and blip-fest of "55" to the new wave inflected drone and slack breakbeats of "Broken Hearts". Every song greets you like a long-lost friend with whom you can’t wait to get re-acquainted. Even the marathon duration of "Constantinople" goes down smooth with its languid Kraut groove and hypnotic bass line running circles around your head in the ultimate seduction of the senses.

Along with fellow bedroom savant Badly Drawn Boy, Echoboy is leading the charge off the dancefloor and onto the living room floor. He's showing would-be Electro-heads everywhere how it can, and for that matter should be done. It is Echoboy’s time to shine, and Volume 1 proves a fitting and impressive introduction -- and one which will no doubt leave the Oasis boys scratching their heads and wondering "Where Did it All Go Wrong?"