EP Review: Clase de 1984 - Niño

Niño's new EP, Clase du 1984, doesn't quite sound like anything I've heard in a while. Sat somewhere between dubstep, house and minimal the songs that make up this collection ultimately sound machine driven but there are organic elements to them. The resulting EP would feel as at home on Get Physical as Donky Pitch and reminds me of Layo & Bushwacka at their peak on Night Works.

Clase de 1984 consists of five original songs and three remixes based on a selection of these tracks. 'Innsmouth' and 'Buio Omega' are the most memorable tunes here. The former is built from stutters and starts, vocal samples slammed against beats whilst clicks and bleeps converge to make the whole thing sound like a robotic machine waking from a deep sleep. The Kelpe remix beefs up the bass and strips the production back a bit, the result being a track that does two things at once rather than six.

'Buio Omega' succeeds in creating an even more ominous vibe than 'Innsmouth', and with its heavy drum loop, rolling bass and pitched vocals it's the closest things get to dubstep on this release. But frankly this is more exciting than most things I'd label dubstep. The Offshore mix is bouncier and a bit more rowdy but, as with all the mixes here, the move towards simplification seems to miss the point. With Niño less is less.

Title track 'Clase de 1984' feels sunny compared to the rest of the EP, big fat keys painting an additional warmth and light-heartedness across the track that isn't shown elsewhere. 'The Man and The Earth' is little more than a laid back interlude whilst 'Bright Lights Big City' provides a fitting close with a sound that feels like it was made for playing against sunsets.

For electronic music the tracks here are all short - even the longest is just four-and-a-half-minutes, and that includes the remixes. It's therefore impressive that Niño manages to fit so much in to such a short body of work. It does however raise questions about how he could fill a full length release whilst sustaining interest - Clase de 1984 works in a short burst, a one inch punch of a record. Indeed, none of the remixes here add much to the originals and the EP would be more focused without them.

You can check out 'Buio Omega' at XLR8R.

BP x

Clase de 1984 is out now on Donky Pitch, available from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link].

EP Review: Science Remixes Part 1 - Cinnamon Chasers

Purveyors of slinky synth-house, Cinnamon Chasers still seem to be relatively unknown but, on the run up to their debut album, their latest EP is a good introduction to their material. Science Remixes may be packaged as a remix collection but actually consisting of a number of originals too.

We're in the realm of warm house music here - not overly banging nor is it particularly likely to appeal to the more crusty of house fans, Cinnamon Chasers are fairly straight up. At their best they recall GusGus' less techno, more house influenced efforts. This is particularly true of opener 'Tattoo' and its accompanying 'Retro 909 Version', which (surprisingly) adds some 909s and a bit of an acid edge to things. 'Tattoo' is minimal and laid back - too laid back for a peak time set but just perfect for some beach time or sunset chilling and frankly that's just fine with me. The noodling melody of the synth line is lush and combines particularly well with the 909 version's drum roll.

'Smooth Station' is a little, dare I say it, cheesier. The original version is a little Royksopp, which is all well and good but the vocal (already pushed to the back of the mix) really adds little. The 'Deep Electric Version' moves things in a bit more of a trance direction and throws in some BT-esque stutter-edits but it's all a bit insipid to leave any lasting mark.

Whilst 'One Million Balloons' treads a similar path its accompanying remix is definitely an improvement, stripping the vocal back and pushing the dubby electronics to the foreground. Final track 'Magic Lover' is a bizarre one - a slightly ska feeling number which again benefits from a remix in the form of the 'Deep Electric Version'.

Science Remixes Part 1 has its moments but ultimately falls short of hitting the mark. 'Tattoo' shows that Cinnamon Chasers, or Russ Davies to use his real name, can make great tracks but the rest of the selection here seems to see him  falling between the gap between pop-crossover material and a more serious electronic sound. The quoted sources of inspiration (Moroder, Vangelis, Jean Michael-Jarre) may be admirable but in the wrong hands they have a tendency to whiff a bit. If they are going to succeed Cinnamon Chasers just might need to choose which way they want to jump: does Davies want a commercial or a critical hit?

BP x

Science Remixes Part 1 is out now on Modus Records, available on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].

Album Review: Mirror! Mirror! - Sons & Daughters

Sons & Daughters' new album Mirror! Mirror! feels rotten to the core. Produced by Keith McIvor, also known as JD Twitch and one half of Glaswegian DJ duo Optimo, it feels significantly darker than anything the band have done before.

Drenched in black with stripped back production Mirror! Mirror! feels a bit like the post-punk revival of the past ten years never happened. Whilst the band cite inspiration as coming from Stevie Nicks, Siousxie, PJ Harvey and Fever Ray it's really more a fairly faithful interpretation of the sounds of Joy Division, Gang of Four et al. Not that this is a bad thing - Interpol and more recently the Horrors have both created great music by using little more than a collection of four or five records from 1978-1983 as inspiration.

In fact Sons & Daughters sound so raw on this record that there is very little not to love. The Optimo sound surrounds this record like creeping dense fog - it's claustrophobic and pretty much impossible to escape. Guitars crunch whilst feedback cuts from left channel to right like a knife on 'Orion', all of it underpinned by David Gow's tight percussion. And the rhythm is the real star of the show here - whether straight up, no-frills and uncompromising as on reverb heavy 'Don't Look Now' or the punchy bass of tribute to murdered actress Elisabeth Short 'Axed Actor'.

The same is true of the 'Ink Free', which tackles singer Adele Bethel's writer's block, and it is a real highlight. Heavy and taught with the production applied with a subtle enough touch to give enough room for Bethel and (second vocalist and guitarist) Scott Paterson's frankly terrifying duet. The occasional burst of distorted white noise and the snare hits that punctuate the atmosphere feel like they actually leave a holes in the structure of the song.

Mirror! Mirror! is lean and focused and for that it should be applauded. Sons & Daughters have created, with the assistance of Keith McIvor, a dizzying and uncompromising album full of tiny details. As a whole body Mirror! Mirror!, the title surely a reference to self-absoption, talks more of the spiral of depression than anything else and that comes through in the palpable claustrophobia this record seeps out throughout its length.

BP x

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

Album Review: Native To - Is Tropical

I've been following Is Tropical since before they were featured on Kitsuné Maison Ten and signed to the Kitsuné label - they feel a bit like a sun bleached, tie-dyed take on the nu rave sound of the Klaxons. It was single 'South Pacific' that really caught my attention however and as such it's a pretty appropriate album opener here, a contradictorily epic shoe-gazing anthem it recalls holidays, the seaside and hope.

The only problem with opening the album on 'South Pacific' is that it gives the rest of the set a lot to live up to. It's a task Is Tropical step up to with a relatively admiral aplomb but never fully address. Native To is short, at just 36 minutes, and therefore has no real problems with overstaying it's welcome but it also struggles to leave a lasting idea within that time. In comparison to 'South Pacific' the majority of the album is considerably more electronic and danceable. 'Land of the Nod' has a thick, warm baseline that splatters things with Is Tropical's trademark colourful sunshine whilst 'The Greeks' hums along, fuzzy and chunky.

But the music is best when rebellious and surrounded by space - 'What ???', with it's rapid fire vocals a soaring chorus ("Temptation to be good”, they sing) is the track that gets them closest to the wonderment of 'South Pacific' and 'Berlin' sounds suitably starry eyed and overwhelmed.

Native To definitely feels like a debut effort - it's a little rough around the edges and content to figure out what it is as it goes along. And sometimes I like that. Whilst Is Tropical are unlikely to top any album-of-the-year lists this certainly cements them as ones to watch. And maybe that is the point - final track 'Think We're Alone' pulls the plug seemingly abruptly, almost like the band are determined to head off before you hear too much of what might be coming next.

BP x

Native To is out now on Kitsuné, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: It's All True - Junior Boys

Junior Boys are one of those few acts where I am frankly just happy for them to stay the same. Their slick take on eighties influenced pop feels like an alternative future where Spandau Ballet ruled the world. Despite this the slight change in direction It's All True represents feel like a definite change for the better.

Sonically this album radiates sunshine. Their most overtly sensual and warm album yet and the result is that things get suspiciously close to Balearic. Married to Johnny Greenspan's as-ever gorgeous vocals this is a very good thing indeed - an irresistible hit of relaxed, dry heat. The songs here vary from being loved up and snappy, as on the punchy rhythms of 'A Truly Happy Ending' to relaxed to the point of apathy. 'Playtime' is a perfect example of the latter - a track that feels like it has been left out in the sun to the point of near-total evaporation. It's almost as though there is nothing left, the crawl to it's conclusion only just about manageable.

Lyrically and emotionally then It's All True is the aural equivalent of the cat Garfield, trapped within a sunbeam that suddenly imparts such a warm feeling of apathy that he can no longer manage the energy needed to move beyond it's grasp. Greenspan sounds overwhelmed by his affections. On opener 'Itch Fingers' he sounds completely aware that his emotions may be being toyed with, yet embraces his feelings anyway. Similarly on 'You'll Improve Me' Greenspan's persistent chorus of "That's the way you'll improve me" is simultaneously cloying and naïve - sounding both like an unwelcome admirer and a victim all at once.

Sunshine and lies run through this album like a seam. The title appears to relate to not just one song but all of them - several making explicit references to truth and lies and the others depicting someone in a state of lying to themselves. It's All True is best when this is combined with warmth and funk however - 'Second Chance' with its tight percussion and bubbling bass line.

Things close with 'Banana Ripple'. I've already mentioned this track in a previous post but it bears highlighting it again - it isn't just the best thing the Junior Boys have ever done, it's probably the best track I've heard all year. 'Banana Ripple' is pure summer sunshine exuberance and it feels like the manifestation of a change in the band - like the straight guy losing fear and taking the dance floor for his own: suddenly they can dance! Huge keyboards, organs and beautiful muted guitar combine with Greenspan's calls: "You'll never see me go...", like he finally wised up and left. And it has that feeling - it's empowered and striking and goosebump inducing.

Call it hyperbole, but in my head this is what the first summer of love sounds like.

BP x

It's All True is released on Domino on 4 July in the UK and 14 June elsewhere, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD and LP [affiliate links].