Album Review: Hi-Hat Club (Volume Three): The Jazz Files - Dexter

Since its release back in 2001 (in the UK at least) the crazy cut up eccentricity of The Avalanches début album Since I Left You has been a firm favourite of BlackPlastic's every single summer. With each year that passes without a follow up album the likelihood of ever hearing more from the band wanes yet it still manages to be a hot topic and attracts plenty of speculation. The latest rumour is that we may indeed see a new album late this year. BlackPlastic will believe it when we actually hear it.

Dexter (or DJ Dexter if you prefer) has since officially left the band but is credited with having a signifcant influence on the band's sound.

And listening to Hi-Hat Club (Volume Three) that influence is obvious. Frankly if you are jonesing for a bit more Since I Left You then you will probably find a lot to like here. As the title suggests there is a jazz vibe that runs throughout the album, and the overall sound has a little more hip-hop and a bit less "kitchen sink", but ultimately for an Avalanches fan the sound is like slipping into an old comfy chair. The observant will even notice that some of the same old sample used by The Avalanches crop up here on 'Practice' but this time they feature an MCs' snippets alongside them, reflecting the different tone of Hi-Hat Club.

The ideas and samples come thick and fast - 'The Future' kicks off with an old radio programme opening before slamming down a hip-hop beat and some jazz keys. The magical pairing of these two elements is reminiscent of instrumental J Dilla but this being Dexter it all feels a little bit more 'turntablism' and less pure hip-hop.

Ultimately the album follows a similar pattern throughout - combinations of hip-hop beats and bassline, jazz samples and radio snippets fade in and out to create what feels like a continuous piece rather than a set of discrete songs.

Hi-Hat Club is not the eclectic party celebration album that Since I Left You was, its more focused nature meaning that it never scales the dizzy heights of that album. Yet it's still a compelling and interesting listen and a clear demonstration of Dexter's skill.

BP x

Hi-Hat Club (Volume Three): The Jazz Files is out now on Melting Pot Music, available from Amazon.co.uk on LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: Darkroom Dubs Volume Two - various mixed by Silicone Soul

If you have heard of Silicone Soul you probably know them for their genre-defying track 'Right On!' from the turn of the last decade. It was the kind of track that found a place in many DJs sets it managed to please both techno fans and house heads with a combination of strings and loose percussion and despite the duo having released four albums over the years it remains their biggest track.

What you may not know is that the Glasgow duo are not only still active but they also run their own label, Darkroom Dubs. This is their second label compilation, following on from Darkroom Dubs Volume One in 2005.

Darkroom Dubs Volume Two surprises just based on how understated it feels. 'Right On!' was never exactly a fair barometer for Silicone Soul's sound but this never strays even close to the elements that made that track cross over. This is an album for fans of dark, atmospheric minimal music and it takes itself seriously. What you get, therefore, is serious music for people in clubs that want to dance and don't want to talk to other people.

It's clinical then, but in places it works. Opening track 'Diabolus In Musica' by Mirror Music lays down a delicate introduction that feels like floating in space and there are numerous tracks, especially those from Silicone Soul, that get a groove going on.

But what Darkroom Dubs Volume Two lacks is any form of transcendence. There is nothing here that adds up to more than the sum of it's parts - so it's basically a collection of average to good quality minimal tech-house tunes. Nice if that is your bag but ultimately, as the name suggests, this is music for darkrooms in nightclubs.

BP x

Darkroom Dubs Volume Two is out now on Darkroom Dubs.

Album Review: FabricLive 51 - The Duke Dumont

The Duke Dumont appears to be getting his props for the right places - much like upstart Rory Phillips the Duke has seen increasing popularity as the result of a string of successful remixes for the right bands, triggered by his winning the Diesel U Music competition.

At thirteen tracks long FabricLive 51 features less tracks than most Fabric albums, let alone most albums in the FabricLive series and, whilst that may seem like a trivial point it says a lot about Adam Dyment's style. Ultimately this mix is about function more than anything else - there are no tricks here and FabricLive 51 demonstrates that, refreshingly, The Duke Dumont is more about playing ten quality songs than 20 average songs just to prove he can.

And the tracks themselves are a lovely mixture of big room, twisted techno and darker sounds. So from the Vincenzo Remix of Audio Soul Project's 'Reality Check' through to Dyment's own deliciously freaked-out remix of Late of the Pier's 'Bathroom Gurgle' the overall vibe is varied yet consistently spacious and atmospheric. Taking a step-back, FabricLive 51 ends with two slower tracks - Floating Points' loose breakbeat, Flying Lotus-esque 'K&G Beat' and Idioma's melodic 'Landscapes'. It's perhaps a brave move but it shows that The Duke Dumont is more than just a DJ and a good mix CD is more than just a DJ set.

FabricLive 51 may lack thrills but ultimately it delivers a fluid, considered collection of well-mixed tracks and demonstrates a better level of programming and sequencing than many DJs deliver on these sets.

BP x

FabricLive 51 is out now, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD [affiliate link].

Album Review: Volume Two - She & Him

There must be a beautiful world out there somewhere where film stars are always wonderfully interesting and where they make lovely pop records that are actually a pleasure to listening.

Whilst you carry on the search for this world BlackPlastic is happy to settle for one such star - the rather appealing Zooey Deschanel. So, fanboy yearning put to one side - Volume Two is Deschanel's second collaboration with musician M. Ward and, as She & Him, follows up on (you guessed it) 2008's Volume One.

So avert your eyes from the BlackPlastic "Alternative Electronic Music" masthead for a few minutes because Volume Two is gently crafted sixties-pop-cum-country music. And we can't help but go a bit doughy on it. What Deschanel lacks in vocal range she more than makes up for in the ability to pen a nice tune and M. Ward's backing does a perfect job of providing the perfect environment to make Zooey shine. The best examples, where the vocals and the music swell in unison as on 'Don't Look Back' and 'Lingering Still' ("And the world's like a science and I'm like a secret" Zooey sings convincingly on the latter), capture a wonderfully kitsch sparkle that transports BlackPlastic to a summer's day.

Compared to Volume One this outing is superior in all ways bar one. Since Volume Two is a more consistent yet more varied album, BlackPlastic can only be disappointed by the fact that there is nothing quite as joyfully edible and sumptuous as Volume One's 'Why Do You Let Me Stay Here'. It's an unfair, churlish criticism perhaps but it ensures that both albums still deserve a listen.

So ultimately Volume Two is the same joyful ye olde fashioned pop music as Volume One. It's warm, arms-open retro hugs.

BP x

Volume Two is out now on Domino, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: In Evening Air - Future Islands

In Evening Air is Future Islands' first release for Thrill Jockey and their first album to be released as a slimmed down three-piece.

Opening with 'Walking Through That Door' In Evening Air is a captivating listen from the off. It is an album with a beautiful dream-like quality that manages to take disparate reference points and brings them together beautifully.

The vocals alternate between gravelly Dylan ('Long Flight') and statuesque Bowie ("Swept Aside"). And that isn't all - In Evening Air is in turns ethereal (on the title track - think David Lynch and Twin Peaks) and youthful and overwhelmed (reminiscent of Sofia Coppola on the beautiful "Long Flight").

There are clear nods to on In Evening Air to post-punk, particularly Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen, and the electronics and emotional punch are pure New Wave. It's little surprise then that Future Islands refer to their own sound as Post-Wave.

But In Evening Air is more than the sum of its parts though. Future Islands sound urgent and insistent and, frankly, desperately delicate. There is so much to soak in across this album's short length that it already feels like an early high-water mark for the year.  Seek it out.

BP x

In Evening Air is released on 4 May on Thrill Jockey, available for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].