Blanck Mass - Blanck Mass (review)

Lot’s of euphoric drones and twinkling synths here, firmly situated in the Emeralds/Fennesz school of melodic fuzziness. It’s nice enough but most of it simply soaks over me and I find my mind drifting elsewhere. That is, apart from the sonic maelstrom of penultimate track ‘What You Know’, which adds a bit of much needed bite to the proceedings, gradually mutating over an encapsulating 13 minutes. This is a strong contender for track of the year and marks Blanck Mass as one to keep your eye on, but not one to get too excited about right now.

7/10

For fans of: Emeralds, Fennesz

Biosphere - N-Plants (review)

My listening stats on last.fm speak volumes about my love of Biosphere’s work, and so I was very excited by N-Plants. Too excited perhaps, because I found the album somewhat underwhelming. It’s good music, and I’d be pretty pleased were it from pretty much anyone else, but the normal arctic iciness of his music has gone, and that’s part of what made works like ‘Substrata’ so engaging. There are pretty melodies, and a surprising Boards Of Canada-esque moment on the standout ‘Genkai’ which make this worth a listen, but if you’re new to the great man, start elsewhere (Substrata!).

7.5/10

Holy Other - With U EP (review)

This is one of the most exciting EPs I have heard in a long time. Holy Other sounds like RnB in slow motion and drowned in a sea of reverb with Burial-esque ghostly vocals. Gorgeously haunting harmonies swirl around, over lethargic, echoey rhythms. The music has a hypnotic quality akin to Gas - you could go on listening to the loops for hours, never more so than on the slowly pulsating 'Yr Love'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LacbQ4Lh7wk

Hands down one of the best slices of electronic loveliness since Burial's 'Untrue'

9.5/10

For fans of: oOoOO, Burial

Banjo Or Freakout - Banjo Or Freakout (review)

This album of hazy dream-pop has had be coming back for more at regular intervals. A good reference point is Deerhunter during their cheerier moments, often eschewing traditional song structure and taking cues from ambient music as much as rock. Like Deerhunter, this remains utterly fresh after many listens, perhaps partially because it is so difficult to make out and decipher the lyrics...

The highlight for me is ‘Idiot Rain’ with its dreamy falling arpeggios and languid 6/8 beat setting the scene for a captivating final section. Honestly, I LOVE a good 6/8 beat and this is a cracker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTUOZnGUGJs

The music ebbs and flows throughout, changing pace and tone, yet always with the same satisfyingly hazy aesthetic, and signals Banjo Or Freakout as one to keep your eye on.

8.5/10

For fans of: Deerhunter

Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Summvs (revew)

Whenever I’ve listened to this I’ve enjoyed it. There’s something wonderfully delicate about Sakamoto’s ethereal piano flourishes and Alva Noto’s sparse rhythms. This is an album to be listened to at night, even more so than previous releases by these two. In this album, though, Sakamoto’s piano is pushed more to the front, and I think as a result I find I can’t really remember much of the music once I've stopped listening - none of it really stands out. The duo’s masterpiece, ‘Insen’, was most breathtaking and hypnotic at the points where the two musicians collided, when Alva Noto would take the piano and break it down into microscopic pieces. Here the piano is cleaner and consequently less memorable. Still, it is worth repeated listens and I’m perhaps doing it a disservice by comparing it too much with Insen.

7.5/10

For fans of: Alva Noto, Atom TM, SND

Africa Hitech - 93 Million Miles (review)

I find 93 Million Miles a bit underwhelming at points. It’s quite rhythm-heavy but the rhythms generally sit in a muddy patch between the hypnotic effect of minimal techno and the juicy complexity of ‘IDM’. I thoroughly enjoyed my first half a dozen listens, don’t get me wrong, but I haven’t felt inspired to revisit it much since.

‘Our Luv’ is the standout track which harks back to Pritchard’s best work as Harmonic 313, and I think the reason it stands out is because it packs in more emotion than the rest of the album combined.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmgrYODcdNI

Perhaps I’m listening to this in the wrong context - I’m sure it’s all a lot more captivating at 1am on the dance floor. Enjoyable, but not essential listening.

7/10

Active Child - You Are All I See (review)

This is an absolutely gorgeous record. Vocally, Grossi switches seamlessly between, well, a normal-pitched singer and an angelic choirboy to stunning effect. Musically, there are strands of M83 (when he was good still…) and you could loosely categorise this as dream-pop, but Grossi draws from so many different genres (check out the r‘n’b stylings on ‘Playing House’) that it stands completely apart from the competition. The use of his harp adds a whole new layer of dreaminess to the mix and sits in nice contrast to the electronic beats underlying his work.

The highlight for me is 'Hanging On', which has a lovely ebb and flow feel to it, plus lots of different layers dancing slowly around each other.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCB6D61LSCs

I really can't recommend this highly enough. Stunning, stunning, stunning.

9.5/10

For fans of: M83, Sigur Ros, Apparat