52
Albums
15 15
17
12
05
WILD BEASTS Present Tense Domino
TYCHO Awake Ghostly International Releases on Matthew Dear’s Ghostly International usually prick up this office’s ears, with the likes of Gold Panda, School Of Seven Bells, Com Truise, Adult and Recondite all having made noteworthy appearances. So we anticipated above average things from this fourth record from Scott Hansen’s Tycho project, his second on Ghostly. Unfortunately what we’re presented with is the kind of clichéd ambient dross that feels like it’s been designed for those who feel beautiful sunsets need enhancing with middle-of-the-road mood music. Even the front cover of the record alludes to this colour palette. Or maybe that’s the sun coming up rather than down? Either way, the plinky-plonky beats, the bleepy echo effected keys or light guitar plucking contains such a chronic lack of depth it’s hard to know where one track ends and the other begins, and it’s culmulative value as a piece of ambient techno through a live prism is hopelessly lightweight. It’s the musical equivalent of having your hair lightly ruffled by a 5 out of 20 … while watching a sunset. !
Thomas Frost
LUKE VIBERT Ridmik Hypercolour It’s been five years since Luke Vibert released a record under his own name, and for a man who has been in the game since ‘93 with as many aliases as a Russian sleeper spy, his back catalogue is as diverse as it is exemplary. Latest album Ridmik, his first for the excellent Hypercolour imprint, finds him facing his greatest love front on: acid. Vibert, like his fellow gamechanging contemporaries Aphex Twin, μ-Ziq and Squarepusher, has carved a canyonesque niche over the last decade, churning out release after release of his specific brand of wobbly techno. But Ridmik is a back-to-basics affair, stripping away any extraneous additions to produce a pure landscape in which the 303 and the 808 are king and queen. The tingle of hi-hats and snapping snares of the opening title track display Vibert at the top of his production game. Melodies are kept simple and precise, a masterclass in subtlety and machine soul. Stabs Of Regret and Acage will fill the dancefloors with moments of pure acid euphoria, whilst Proper Gander is a bass heavy banger with endless flow and artificial hand claps to boot. This album is a techno treatise, studying the sacred nature of acid and what can be achieved by following a philosophy of classic simplicity. An authentic musical journey in the car that Roland built, driven by a master of his field. !
Phillip James Allen
The fourth record from Cumbria’s finest is their most palatable offering to date. Having recently told Crack they “don’t want just to be interpretable by musos”, the album title Present Tense points towards a return to the intuitive immediacy seen on 2008’s Limbo, Panto, but also makes it clear that Wild Beasts are by no means reverting. There’s a hugely broadened palette on show here, most noticeably in a pronounced movement toward synthesised sounds. And it feels justified, a necessary move to bring some of that intuition back. Eight years in and Wild Beasts are still feeling their way as they go, and that’s part of what makes Present Tense such a joy to listen to. As ever, this is a record that revels in a back and forth sway. Obviously there’s the tag teaming between lead vocalists Hayden Thorpe and Ben Little, or as Hayden has described it “the comedy high voice, comedy low voice double act”. But more than that, the album as a whole sways between joyously upbeat and epic melodrama. Perhaps the most upbeat of them all, A Simple Beautiful Truth lives up to its lofty title, while the following track A Dog’s Life switches back with a welcome dose of moody introspection. The continuous changing of mood and tempo breathes life into the album, indulging in an almost theatrical feel. It can be a touch crude, but we’ve come to expect that from Wild Beasts. It’s the instinctive simplicity of the band that ensures they remain treasured. The triumph of Present Tense is that they manage to keep hold of this whilst continuing to push their own sound. !
Jack Lucas Dolan
FRÀNÇOIS AND THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS Piano Ombre Domino
MAC DEMARCO Salad Days Captured Tracks With the arrival of Passing Out Pieces, the lead track from Mac’s second full-length album Salad Days, all signs pointed towards an expanded sound, with the Canadian’s slacker surf rock complimented by woozy synths that echo Tame Impala’s landmark 2012 effort Lonerism. While Chamber of Reflection follows suit, and the Earth/Alien instrumental Johnny’s Odyssey distinctly sounds like the plight of a being encountering a new world, the majority of Salad Days sounds much more like a direct sequel to his last record than a revamp of the formula. The somewhat gloomy lyrical refrain of the eponymous opener is at odds with the optimistic guitar jangles and sing-a-long la-la-las; “Oh mama, acting like my life’s already over”, he sings. This lyrical context of family relations is something Mac has visited before in songs such as previous album opener Cooking Up Something Good, which discussed the subject of his father’s tendency to cook up crystal meth in the basement – apparently a happy memory. “Pack it up and leave it all behind you/start up fresh in someone else’s town”, Mac sings later on Go Easy, perhaps from his mother’s perspective; “please go easy with my baby”. Variably melancholy lyrics continually juxtapose with the unflinchingly sweet melodies and humorous spoken word interludes (“SHIT!” whispers Mac at the beginning of Brother). Who are the “blue boy”, the “brother” who is “better off dead”, and the boy who should “treat her better”, for example? When pieced together, the record seems to be one about both the paradoxical nature of growing up and dividing from close relationships. “Please don’t take my love away”, he sings on Let My Baby Stay, “separated from my one and only – what’s there left to say?” With such a prankster personality as Mac’s, and such a hazily jolly mood underlying these tracks, you can imagine him winking through it all. More definitive answers will surely be revealed in nonchalant introductions at his next live shows, most likely through cracking jokes But the relationship between the music and the words are nonetheless a fascinating aspect of this record, which is – by the way – pretty much flawless. !
James Balmont
The ingredients that compile Frànçois and the Atlas Mountains are healthy and active elements for any band making alternative guitar music. There is the afro-pop informed guitar plucking, the swaying French chanson stylings and the grandiose, re-imagined folk music. It’s understandable, then, that on a first listen their album tastes overbearingly rich, leaning on so much variety and character it seems easy to be pushed away by the whimsical wonder of it all. It’s lucky Frànçois and the Atlas Mountains have melody on their side. In less capable hands the coquettish French lyricism and jovial production would lose any value beyond being marketably playful. However tracks like La Vérité and La Fille Aux Cheveux de Soie showcase a very genuine awareness of melodic sensibilities, backing up their fluffy intentions with stirring and affecting musicianship. As the album progresses and allows itself time to breathe, the band manage to shake off their peppiness altogether. Title track Piano Ombre and Fancy Foresight showcase downtime with sweet ballads and subtle production, suggesting that perhaps they would benefit from pursuing their darker inclinations. Resoundingly it is an album that does little to skew alt-pop traditions, yet through basic talent the band produce something enjoyable and lasting – just. !
Angus Harrison