dream pop / trip hop
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Although people usually see me as a metalhead, I've always been a fan of electronic music. From Kraftwerk over Front 242 to the whole new beat scene and later variants in drums & bass, trip hop and IDM, I've constantly been following the odd world of electronics. Yet, I have to admit that many of today's electronic acts are quite stale and soulless. Many of the acts I've seen live lately, sounded exactly the same, a light version of dubstep perhaps.
But here we're dealing with something very different, something very good indeed. Obviously, the fact that this is gloomy dance music is a massive plus but regardless of darkness, this album is energetic, full of soul, dreamy and immersive. But what would you expect from seasoned musicians Dean Garcia (Curve, SPC ECO) and Preston Maddox (Bloody Knives). Their experience in the alternative underground certainly did them some good.
What you get on this album is dance music, sometimes eighties industrial loaded songs like 'Do It Now' or 'Secret', sometimes eerie and trippy dubstep-induced pieces like 'Dead Right', and on other occasions dreamy trip hop tunes, like the title track 'What We Want', reminding me of Massive Attack or Tricky. All of these songs are layered with dream pop arrangements, shoegaze soundscapes and gentle, subdued vocals, making this album stand-out in today's electronics scene.
In fact, the whole thing reminds me more of 4AD bands (like Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Slowdive) than the DJ-driven manure of the electronic dance music world, even though 'Deeper' could be a massive club hit, part Eurythmics, part Daan, part Terence Fixmer. I also really dig the ambienty 'Slow' and the deep 'Trickery'. Hell, I like all the songs here, but my favorite has to be the haunting 'A Thousand Cuts'.
Now comes the hard part of this review. Who do I recommend this album to? Shoegazers? EDM fans? Dream-poppers? Trip-hoppers? Well, let's simply go with all of the above. I doubt that there will be anything more hypnotic and immersive being released this year. You can bet your ass that this album is going into my "sweet electronics" playlist where it gets the company from fine people like Massive Attack, Bonobo, Plaid, Tricky, Subheim and Miwon. I suggest you do the same thing...
​Serge
But here we're dealing with something very different, something very good indeed. Obviously, the fact that this is gloomy dance music is a massive plus but regardless of darkness, this album is energetic, full of soul, dreamy and immersive. But what would you expect from seasoned musicians Dean Garcia (Curve, SPC ECO) and Preston Maddox (Bloody Knives). Their experience in the alternative underground certainly did them some good.
What you get on this album is dance music, sometimes eighties industrial loaded songs like 'Do It Now' or 'Secret', sometimes eerie and trippy dubstep-induced pieces like 'Dead Right', and on other occasions dreamy trip hop tunes, like the title track 'What We Want', reminding me of Massive Attack or Tricky. All of these songs are layered with dream pop arrangements, shoegaze soundscapes and gentle, subdued vocals, making this album stand-out in today's electronics scene.
In fact, the whole thing reminds me more of 4AD bands (like Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Slowdive) than the DJ-driven manure of the electronic dance music world, even though 'Deeper' could be a massive club hit, part Eurythmics, part Daan, part Terence Fixmer. I also really dig the ambienty 'Slow' and the deep 'Trickery'. Hell, I like all the songs here, but my favorite has to be the haunting 'A Thousand Cuts'.
Now comes the hard part of this review. Who do I recommend this album to? Shoegazers? EDM fans? Dream-poppers? Trip-hoppers? Well, let's simply go with all of the above. I doubt that there will be anything more hypnotic and immersive being released this year. You can bet your ass that this album is going into my "sweet electronics" playlist where it gets the company from fine people like Massive Attack, Bonobo, Plaid, Tricky, Subheim and Miwon. I suggest you do the same thing...
​Serge