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.
Tierra Whack- Whack World- If you’re going to make a statement when entering the hip hop world what better way to do than in 15 short 1 minute tracks. Tierra Whack sets out to show lyrical hip hop brilliance in a very short space of time, in a world where Drake and Lil Wayne et al release 24 track 90min albums to maximise value on Spotify, it’s a real musical statement. Better than the rejection of playlist culture is the fact that Tierra Whack’s flow and beats are killer. In a world of Cards B’s and Migos Tierra Whack offers a lot to enjoy.
2. Ross From Friends- Family Portrait- Depending on where you stand Ross from Friends is either the shittest producer name ever or a stroke of comical genius. Personally as I have a theory as to why Ross was the greatest friend I see this as long overdue tribute to a much maligned palaeontologist. Family Portrait is one of those albums much like George Fitzgerald’s which takes the house temple which has been so popular and bends and extends it into something more interesting. With a name like Ross From Friends Felix Weatherall was always going to have to deliver the goods and in emotive and dark style he really does.
3. Various Artists- Don’t You Mess With Cupid Cause Cupid Ain’t Stupid- Nina Kraviz’s Trip Records has put out some of the most interesting and diverse techno in recent years. And this compilation of tracks and rarities including one fro Apex Twin only helps to cement the label’s growing reputation still further.
4. RP Boo- I’ll Tell You What- RP Boo’s contributions to footwork have always been experimental, numerous and full of some of the most interesting samples used within the scene. I’ll Tell You What continues that trend, whilst, not critically as well received as some of his past albums, repeated plays will reward.
5. Olafur Arnalds- Re: Member- Another month and another alumnus of Erased Tapes. Much like albums released by Rival Consoles and Nils Frahm earlier this year Arnolds uses this release to further push his contemporary classical sound towards experimental techno. The results are beautiful, peaceful and often stunning.
6. The Blaze- Dancehall- On the back of surprise underground smash Territory released last year the Parisian duo have followed it up with an album of real depth and complexity which in part pays homage to the Dancehall sound. It does this by filtering dancehall through house to leave something which at first sounds confused but rewards with repeated listens.
7. Proc Fiskal- Insula- Nobody needs telling that artists on Hyperdub do things a little differently and Proc Fiskal is no exception to that rule. Insula finds an artist filtering grime through weird and interesting devices and until something new and distorted comes out the other end. Insula stands as further proof that if you want to continue to find Grime experimental look to the producers not the MCs.
8. Orbital- Monsters Exist- Released to mix reception but loved by myself, the deluxe version is a real treat and sees the duo return to their 90s focus of the environment and the perils of our modern world. It’s a joy to see them return after so many years away and I for one can’t wait to see them back out on the road in December.
9. Apex Twin- Collapse EP- Many have described this release as a regression but if this is what Richard sounds like when he looks back into his glitchy 90s past then he’s still miles ahead of everyone else in the game.
10. Low- Double Negative- Double Negative sees the Subpop slow core band experiment further with electronic sounds than they have ever done before. The results are staggeringly disarming, dark, beautiful and result in perhaps the best thing the band has done in a decade.
11. Max Cooper- One Hundred Billion Sparks- After having already released a strong addition to the much loved and acclaimed Balance mix series earlier in the year Cooper continues his good form on One Hundred Billion Sparks. An album which will appeal to those techno fans who enjoy the work of Joris Voorn, Jon Hopkins and Nils Frahm, it’s beautifully produced as you’d expect and makes all the right emotive moves to have you returning for repeat plays.
12. FourTet- Live at Funkhaus Berlin- Kieran Hebden has been the bastion of right in a world of wrong in dance music for so long’s almost impossible to remember all of the good fights he has fought- Plastic People, the save fabric campaign and acting as some what of a mentor to Burial, Jamie XX et al. So it should come as no surprise that Hebden responded to the disastrous organisation of his failed set at this year’s Field Day Festival by releasing a full live album of how that set would have sounded for a fiver and by scheduling 4 sold out nights at Brixton Academy again with tickets costing only a fiver, what a nice chap. Aside from his general niceness this live album showcases just how far the Four Tet sound has come and just how good Hebden is as a live act. He takes his original productions and twists them and fragments them into beautiful new live productions, seeing Four Tet’s maturity on this record is a real joy to behold. A great release for the many disappointed by Field Day and based on this I look forward to seeing Hebden for a second attempt in Brixton.
albumoftheweek 