Album Review: Bla Bla Bla - Martin Brodin

Swedish DJ and producer Martin Broden has been around. Having been inspired by classic house cuts such as Lil Louis' French Kiss via Depeche Mode, Yello and Kraftwerk both Broden's career trajectory and musical tastes appear to be somewhat eclectic. He played deep house as a DJ for years and previously ran the deep house label Deeplay. 2010 saw Broden change direction, focusing much more on disco and launching the label MB Disco. Bla Bla Bla feels like the culmination of a transition that began several years ago.

The focus here is on making modern disco that goes beyond simple re-edits and short loops to focus on fuller instrumental works. Borrowing from others is clearly allowed though, as Oh Yeah proudly announces with it's INXS sampling riff that kicks the album into a higher gear. It's a sassy, cheeky track that manages to do a lot with those light fingers, but it doesn't exactly deliver on Brodin's promise: it sounds exactly like one of those clever disco re-edits.

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​Bla Bla Bla - Martin Brodin

If there are doubts though Strings Attack does a lot to dispel them. Starting with the kind of percussion sequence Morgan Geist would be proud of - handclaps, bongos, drum kicks - Broden creates an exotic groove around a set of romantic strings and brass. It's a developed and authentically extravagant sound, but it's the gradual descent into electronic chaos in the track's final quarter that lifts the track beyond mere mimicry, though there's a hint of Yellow Magic Orchestra throughout.

A cover of Bryan Ferry's Don't Stop The Dance is just as enjoyable if a little less innovative, oiled guitar riffs jamming out liquid melodies against Broden's thick electronic bass loop and strings. Trapeze Disco gets a little seductive and sun drenched as a warm bass line and synths play against a loose, organic-feeling clattering drums and it's simple, effective and yet still very well done.

There are undeniable moments here where Bla Bla Bla feels like it may be a little short on ideas and at nearly 70-minutes long it could happily lose 3 songs and been a better album. It's not got the same gloriously short and consistent feel of Geist's Metro Area album, for existence, and it would be unfair to even compare them if it wasn't for such a clear similarity in inspiration, direct or not. Still, Bla Bla Bla is an assured album with some standout moments and it's easy to imagine this sounding fantastic this summer.

Bla Bla Bla is released through MB Disco on 29 March, available to pre-order on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].

EP Review: Only Built 4 Neon Nites - Lockah

Lockah's Only Built 4 Neon Nites represents Donky Pitch's eighth release to date and their first so far in 2013 and it just might be their biggest yet. It's certainly the release most squarely aimed at the mainstream.

Lockah has already released material through Mad Decent sub-label Jeffrees and Mishka, and he's provided remixes for releases of both Fool's Gold and Skrillex's OWSLA.

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Only Built 4 Neon Nites - Lockah

Only Built 4 Neon Nites is a tribute late night ambling through urban illuminated skylines. It is made for listening through in sequence, representing that journey, but each track stands on its own. The EP takes in a variety of sounds but the disco-kitchen-sink approach of Rustie forms the template - elements of EDM-influenced dubstep, crunchy techno, electro and hip-hop all feature, combined with heavy 80s pop references. 

Following a brief car-engine-start, 80s radio electro pop intro ...Neon Nites gets into things proper with Young Neon Countach, the name telling you all you need to know. Expect plenty of electro synths, big hip-hop drum kicks and amped up, distorted melodies. It sets the tone for the rest of the EP, with each track delivering different styles but using the same basic approach.

Guards Red Carrera (spot a theme?) starts with a Buggles-esque campy melodies that melt into liquid DnB rhythms and EDM synths. Let The Cool Air Breeze is more laid back in its entrance - the lull before the evening's climax perhaps. Big melodies backed with slower drum patterns that make way for a break constructed from a series of liquid related sample, building towards a celebratory finale.

The EP closes with Platinum Blondes, another more contemplative track. Distorted bass lines provide the bed for a soft-focus eighties melody and hip-hop samples. It feels like the EP's closing credits, cinematically culminating in another engine being fired up in the rain, before pulling off.

Only Built 4 Neon Nites is a sugar rush of an EP: instant and gratifying, and a fleetingly brief introduction to Lockah's sound.

Only Built 4 Neon Nites is out now on Donky Pitch, available to buy on Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link].

Album Review: Hard Rubbish - Lower Plenty

Australian bands like Cut Copy and Tame Impala have a habit of throwing me into a slightly over excited wobbly mess but I think you'd struggle to peg Lower Plenty as Australian despite their Melbourne origins. Their sound, as highlighted back in January, is a bluesy urban-influenced take on country with hints of garage punk, a sound more American in origin than anything.

A range of influences are packed in to Hard Rubbish's short set though. It may be just 9 songs and only 24-minutes long but there is still much to hear, from the punky male-female Moldy Peaches-esque duets to grimey dischordent melodies.

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​Hard Rubbish - Lower Plenty

Lower Plenty are at their best when their music sounds its most improvised or melancholic. It shows, in a good way, that much of this album was recorded in a single take.

The cluttered and ill-timed lyrics of opener Work In The Morning or the lilting How Low Can A Punk Get are both perfect examples of Lower Plenty's freewheeling style, words seemingly spilling out of the singer's guts whilst the band play through the haze of a few too many days on the downers. Strange Beast and final track Close Enough both feel considerably more serious, the latter capturing vocalist Sarah Heyward's disconcerting attempt at self-assurance and post-rationalisation.

With such short length it is hard to class Hard Rubbish as more than a mini-album,  and priced as a full album it feels stingy. Yet there is no denying the band's honesty and attitude. This is very much the welcome appetiser, and a proof of concept.

​Hard Rubbish is released through Fire Records on 1 April, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

EP Review: The Game EP - Lars Vegas

The garage revival seems to be going from strength to strength of late, with seemingly an ever growing number of DJs bashing out numbers influenced by the best bits of the 90s sound and steering well clear of the dross.

This new EP from Lars Dales operating under his brand new Lars Vegas moniker comes on the Large Music label and definitely takes its cue from the (original) US form of Garage that came out of New York's Paradise Garage.

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The Game EP - Lars Vegas

This title track has more than a hint of early Masters At Work in the slightly tinny soul vocals with cut-up sample sections and skippy drum beats. It really captures the spirit of some of those old garage records - the kind of record you can imagine kids dancing to as their sneakers squeak across the floorboards, treble-heavy production and cymbal crashes filling the room.

The other original track on this release, Break Me Down, is more spectral, complete with looped string-synths and liquid-like keys. It references similar material but has just a tiny bit more of a deep house sound and a more chilled-out feel. The EP is rounded off with a remix of Break Me Down from duo Homework, who stay faithful to the deep house stylings of the original track but give it more of an upfront edge, transporting the retro sounds for a more up-to-date arena.

The Game EP is out on 25 March through Large Music.​

EP Review: It's Fun You Know - Rework

Having had five years off prior to its release I'd half expected Rework's Werewolf EP last year to be one off, or at least for a couple of years to pass before we heard anything else from our enigmatic trio. And yet here we are, just half a year later, with some new material.

What's more, whilst Werewolf came out on Parisien label Meant this new release, It's Fun You Know, comes on Rework's own label Loveyeah. Loveyeah is set to be a label for like minded artists but to usher it into the world Rework have understandably chosen to put out some of their own material.

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​It's Fun You Know - Rework

The It's Fun You Know EP features three original tracks and opens with the title track. That track treads a line that will be familiar to fans of Rework but it's still noticeably distanced from the analogue aggression of Werewolf, with It's Fun You Know consisting of a hypnotic techno soundscape. Vocal clips are blended into a mechanical, atmospheric mix full of reverb and a tightly looped bass line.

Thrill Me is a little more extroverted, snappy bass, lose drums and high hats whilst Rework's trademark approach sees vocals worked deep into the mix - it's both funky and understated to the point of being aloof.

The last of the original tracks is The Sign, a locked down bass groove that delivers slightly scratchy drum kicks and very little else. Rework's productions are full of cool touches - the sound of those drums perfect, the slight analogue vinyl crackle almost inaudible - yet I'd be the first to admit that it's not exactly accessible, and this is the trio tacking that to extremes.

A little more easy to get into is Jeans Team's version of Werewolf, which closes out the EP. They add a series of hollow drum sounds and strip back the synth groove a bit whilst pushing the vocals up high in the mix. The result retains that Eurotrash cool but gives it a more ambient, open feel. Some ridiculous vocal synths complete the look, creating a track that feels like it would have been as at home in 1986 as now. With slick analogue synths and lots of echo, it's not exactly fucking pretty, but it's pretty fucking cool.

It's Fun You Know is out now on Loveyeah, listen via Spotify below:​