ALBUMSREVIEWS 5.0
Hervé Pick Me Up, Sort Me Out, Calm Me Down Cheap Thrills Popped out
Although it’s actually his first solo album following collaborative projects like The Count & Sinden and Machines Don’t Care, ‘Pick Me Up, Sort Me Out, Calm Me Down’ sees Hervé having an identity crisis. Some tracks like the self-explanatory ‘Gnarly’ suggest he wants to be the bassbin bruiser who mixed the ‘Ghetto Bass’ compilations, whilst others like ‘Happy’ suggest he wants to be the pop pickler who remixed Beyoncé. The thing is, this schizophrenia often occurs in the same track, so you’ll get some pop vocals and cheesy synths even Calvin Harris would think were shite suddenly interrupted by basslines that would give N-Type the willies. Not all the vocal tracks are dire — ‘The Mirror’ featuring The Beta Band’s Steve Mason being brooding electro-indie in The Black Ghosts mould — but Hervé’s attempts at balancing between the underground and the charts often leaves him on his arse. Paul Clarke
Leon In My Factory VIVa Music Disjointed disco
Appearing onto our radars in 2011 with releases on Saved and Cecile, Italian DJ and producer Leon’s first full length has landed on Steve Lawler’s VIVa. Opening with the atmospheric synths, spoken word and occasional piano lick of ‘My Dreams’, until dropping into the chugging latin percussion and 3/4 timings of ‘Inside Me’, the first “proper” dance track, ‘Prophet Style’, falls a bit short. The rest of the album weaves through a variety of tempos, atmospheres and vibes, some working together better than others. Towards the second half of the album we get stronger, more dancefloor-orientated tracks. ‘Seventies In My Memories’ is a funk-infused house workout with energy and vibe, and the Franco Cinelli remix of ‘Supersonic’ serves as the pick of the bunch (even though the original mix is still pretty stomping). Some quality cuts here, cobbled with a lack of cohesion. Joe Brooke-Smith
6.0
8.0
Spectrasoul Delay No More Shogun Audio Bass spectrum
Releasing their debut single on Shogun Audio, it seems natural for Brighton’s Dave Kennett and Jack Stevens to return to the label for their first full-length. Polished, musical d&b which avoids big-room trappings for a home-listening intimacy, there’s nods to drumstep and house, but never far is the overcast, almost gothic ambience and grunge-y bass simmering underneath, creating the effect of an album consistently working on two levels. ‘Light In The Dark’, the 4 Hero-esque, Terri Walker-featuring single is almost an album précis, even down to the title, but the most intriguing paths for Spectrasoul’s pop ambitions come with ‘Knuckle Waltz’ and The Weeknd-like ‘Fools Paradise’, when they step back from monochrome anthemia to start tampering with genre. But for now, ‘Delay No More’ meets d&b and gloomy pop in the middle without either side losing out. Excellent. Sunil Chauhan
Otto von Schirach Supermeng Monkeytown Aural kryptonite
Miami bass is notoriously nookie- obsessed, but by casting himself as the eponymous superhero ‘Supermeng’ for his eighth album, Otto von Schirach’s take on his hometown’s genre is more like someone wriggling a pair of pants over some tights than trying to slip off someone else’s. Maybe because — for some inexplicable reason — his blending of Miami bass with breakcore, poodle rock, gonzo porn and B-movie sci-fi doesn’t exactly win over the fairer sex. And it’s the boys who are once again most likely to wet themselves here, as von Schirach goes on a mission to discover how low he can go in terms of both humour and frequencies — encountering ’80s electro, Aphex-style freak-outs and some abominable rapping on the way. There are some giggles to be had but they’re often as crude as someone cracking a fart — and the bassline of ‘The Blob’ makes you think he just has. Paul Clarke
6.0
Shed
The Killer 50 Weapons
8.5 All killer no filler
ITdoesn’t get more techno than Shed. The master of a movement conceived to subvert electronic norms, Rene Pawlowitz is too unwilling to rest and fester on a formula. Brushing shoulders with fellow Berlin resident Scuba at a time of heightened cross-pollination, his second LP, 2011’s ‘Traveller’ (Ostgut Ton), helped open a new estuary for dubstep’s episodic evolution to channel itself.
Today, techno 2.0; rudeboy techno; future techno — call it what you will — is now the sound du jour for bassheads across Europe, and Shed was always going to be the beating heart of it. His new opus, ‘The Killer’ (50 Weapons), shares as much with the dystopian mechanics of Boddika as
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it does with the minimal drive of Ben Klock or Len Faki.
As bleak and ominous — terrifying even — as you’d expect from a Shed LP, ‘Silent Witness’ tumbles down the rabbit hole to find Wonderland under the heel of cyborgian drones building an empire, while ‘I Come By Night’ travels deep into the sweltering guts of the engine rooms below. Later, however, ‘Day After’ pauses for reflection, ‘Phototype’ reaches a new level of AFX pathos and ‘The Praetorian’ could be Lone at a yoga retreat.
A multi-dimensional and cinematic composition fraught with emotion and irrepressibly engaging throughout. ADAM SAVILLE
065
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