February 12th- Glassjaw and Slowthai

So albums released on February 5th were a total bust and if there’s one thing I insist on this block it’s quality music. Therefore this week to make up for Feb 5th it’s a double feature, a bonanza of quality. First up:

Glassjaw- Colouring Book

A decade after its limited release Glassjaw announced the much coveted EP, which previously was only given away at shows on a previous tour, would be getting a full and proper release. Why now? Why the delay? Who really knows it’s Glassjaw and they’ve never been known to do things traditionally. Thankfully a decade’s wait was well worth it. Colouring Book is the best record Glassjaw have made in twenty years. It tones down the screaming for aggressive post hardcore experimentation and it does so rather well.

What’s always stood out with Glassjaw are the jazz inflected broken beat drum rhythms the band employ and they are thankfully ever present here underpinning the sonic experimentation of the guitar work. This experimentation is best employed and most apparent on the last two tracks of the EP, Stations of New Cross and Daytona White. With their soaring vocals and buzzing chainsaw guitars both tracks sound like Glassjaw doing shoegaze and this is no bad thing at all. Both tracks are easily the best things Glassjaw have made since Cosmopolitan Blood Loss.

Many of the vocals here rather than focus on the early all our scream instead use the age old trick quiet chorus loud verse as employed by Pixes, Nirvana et al. It’s a trick which sounds perfect on these experimental tracks and provides a more subtle aggression than ever heard by Glassjaw.

Ten years was certainly worth the wait but now the question remains where do Glassjaw go from here?

And so we come to

Slowthai- Tyron

Let’s start this off quickly and get it over with at the last NME awards British rapper Slowthai who had been adopted as a rapper who did things a little differently made a drunken fool out of himself with some silly comments and a fan fight. It was embarrassing for all concerned and more than a little awkward.

So this is his redemption record.

And what a record it is. Slowthai certainly does some soul searching on tracks like Cancelled but quickly brushes past it with a bravado of judge me by mistakes but you don’t know me. What has always set Slowthai apart as a rapper is his social and political commentary and his soul searching. His is rap which isn’t afraid to confront but personal and political demons and on Tyron Slowthai does both expertly.

Tracks like NHS very obviously hit right at the heart of issues in Britain whilst Vex and I tried focus on Slowthai himself. The album is one of two differing lyrical approaches but rather than separate the tracks by theme Slowthai cleverly breaks things up by sound with the more aggressive sounding tracks at the forefront and the back end of the album more meditative, it makes for an interesting and unique way of breaking up a rap album and again helps to show that Slowthai really is a person with more to him than first meets the eye.

Welcome back Slowthai all is forgiven.

January 29th- Everything is Recorded- Saturday Specials: The Clipz Remixes

In a week which saw Madlib release an album produced by Four Tet and Arlo Parks release her beautiful debut album choosing a selection for this week was a challenge. After all what do they say about buses and their propensity to come all at once? However, rather than opt for either of the two perfectly fine releases mentioned above I have instead selected Everything is Recorded- Saturday Specials: The Clipz Remixes.

For those who aren’t familiar with Everything is Recorded this is the production vehicle of Richard Russell founded and owner of XL Recordings and who himself has developed into an interesting producer with an ear for post dubstep, grime and world music. Taken as an original recording Saturday Specials released last year was a nice if not mediocre release and nothing substantial to write about.

However 2021 sees the album fully remixed and released by Jungle producer Clipz who outside of drum and bass circles may have been familiar to some as the house producer Redlight and who under the Clipz guise released my favourite track of last year Down 4.

I’ve always been a fan of artists remixing full albums I think it offers an opportunity for a producer to be really creative to not only craft something new from something familiar but to take a story and turn it in a different direction and that’s exactly what Clipz has done here. The heartbreak vibes and mellow break downs of the original Everything is Recorded album remain but they are turned up to 11 and placed amidst thunderous jungle that wouldn’t have sounded out of place at a Raindance event circa 1995.

As with last week’s Bicep album the whole project is great to listen to from start to finish and if jungle/drum and bass is your thing you won’t find yourself reaching for the skip button once. One of the intriguing, and strong points of this release, is the final track, which is a 30 minute full length mix of all the tracks from the album recorded by infamous Old Skool Jungle head Jack Frost live on the hallowed decks of London Nightclub Fabric. The inclusion of the mix gives the album that real 90s jungle vibe and could easily be listened to on its own- though I advise you to enjoy this emotive, fun, jungle remix album in full.

January 22nd- Bicep- Isles

For a production due that started out as a blog things have gone staggeringly well for Bicep. Their self titled debut released in 2017 was a 90s indebted but future leaning emotional dance record which was this writer’s favourite album of the year. It also contained the ever presented, hugely successful and decade defining tack Glue (https://open.spotify.com/track/2aJDlirz6v2a4HREki98cP?si=fx2j0w-USDaBhYB5OZv_Mg) which is still riding high in dance charts and appearing regularly on multiple tv shows or adverts. In short since launching things have gone pretty well for the Belfast duo. And they don’t show any signs of slowing up with the release of their second album Isles.

Isles is immaculately put together and repeats similar tricks to their debut album but with enough variation to sound fresh. The sound is as before with broken beats and emotional synths that clearly take their cue for 90s breaks, house, trance and downtempo. And as with their debut it all works brilliantly.

The due have claimed they see this album as the opportunity to explore the headphone listening experience and that these tracks have been produced and sequenced with that in mind and that fans should expect club edits to be released in the future alongside entirely different versions to be played live (when one day live music exists again). If the goal was the ultimate headphone experience it is one which has been more than achieved. Production qualities, sequencing and the balance of each track is perfect and the record truly does sound great through a pair of good quality headphones.

There are multiple stand out tracks- Atlas, Apricots, Saku, Lido, Fir and closing track Hawk are all excellent. In fact the whole album is a triumphant success and each track could easily dominate the hoped for summer season in Ibiza.

With Isles Bicep have grown and continued to be an outstanding production due. Despite it only being January this could well be a contender for many people’s album of the year.