TRICKY
Knowle West Boy
WIGCD195
Domino Recording Co. 2008
13 Tracks. 46mins22secs

Trapped between the paranoid atmospheres and claustrophobic beats that have become his own doomed musical universe on one side and his need to escape toward more accessible grounds, Tricky has been looking for a fresh way to express himself for some time. Knowle West Boy is not quite the flamboyant renaissance that he deserves, as the recent rock-infused single Council Estate attests, but there is definitely a renewed fever running throughout and it contributes to this album feeling more focused than the lacklustre Juxtapose or Vulnerable for instance. Continue Reading »

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
Water Curses
RUG287CD/RUG287T
Domino Recording Co 2008
04 Tracks. 18mins05secs
Format: CDS/12″/Digital

The journey on which Animal Collective embarked some years ago has taken them from the thoroughly experimental to the surprisingly straightforward without ever going about it the easy way. In recent years, their records have become more melodic and song-based. Their last couple of inputs for Fat-Cat swapped the burning exuberance of early records for much more structured and elegant records. Last year’s Strawberry Jam album, the collective’s first full length release on Domino, showed that, although the band have polished their act, they remained as inventive with their music and have developed a truly unique sound.

Following the all-out pop effervescence of Strawberry Jam, Water Curses catches the band in a much reflective mood, their colourful songs stripped down, leaving vocals and melodies exposed. Continue Reading »

FOUR TET
Ringer
RUG295CD/RUG295T
Domino Recording Co. 2008
04 Tracks. 31mins33secs
Format: CDS/12″/Digital

It has been a while, over two years in fact, since Kieran Hebden last paraded as Four Tet. During this time, his focus has been on his collaboration with jazz drummer and percussionist Steve Reid, with various degrees of success. Since 2005, the pair have relentlessly toured and released three records, two if the Exchange Session diptych is to be counted as one offering.

One of the pioneers of the ill-named folktronica movement, a tag he has constantly rejected ever since it was stamped all over his work, Hebden abandons here, perhaps not permanently, the future will tell, the voluptuous formations that have made him a near-household name and turns his attention to much more purely electronic soundscapes. Continue Reading »

TO ROCOCO ROT
ABC123
RUG265
Domino Recording Co. 2007
08 Tracks. 19mins49secs

Helvetica. Unless you have lived under a stone of in a cave for the last fifty years, you have, knowingly or not, been exposed to the ubiquitous typeface created by Swiss font foundry Haas. Revered by most typographists and graphic designers, and used in the most common urban signage, from airport and road signs to public toilets, and from record covers to eye-catching ad campaigns, Helevetica has become the most ubiquitous modern font around, thanks to its clear lines and high readability at pretty much any size. 2007 is exactly fifty years since its creation, and the event was marked by a series of exhibitions around the world, and by a documentary investigating its impact. Continue Reading »

KIERAN HEBDEN & STEVE REID
Tongues
WIGCD189
Domino Recording Co. 2007
10 Tracks. 44mins45secs

Since he took some time off Fridge to concentrate on Four Tet, Kieran Hebden has become one of the most prominent artists of the British electronic scene of the last ten years. Three years ago, he met legendary percussionist Steve Reid, and the pair began working on live collaborations, resulting in the double-barreled Exchange Session (volume one and two). The records were the result of improvisations, which were presented in their raw form, with no overdubs. Although split into bite size sections of barely more than thirty to forty minutes, these recordings suffered from lack of general focus necessary for this kind of project, and failed to capture the true energy of the live shows the duo had been performing earlier. Continue Reading »