Tshepo Mokoena 

LA Priest: Inji review – genre-hopping done right on a woozy, joyous debut

Sam Dust, formerly of Late of the Pier, pulls influences from all over the place but still maintains coherence on his impressive debut
  
  

Sam Dust AKA LA Priest
Unbridled and explorative … Sam Dust AKA LA Priest Photograph: PR

In a way, it’s no surprise that LA Priest’s Sam Dust has released a debut that sounds as if each song was written by a different artist. He blurred genres while fronting Late of the Pier from 2004 until 2010, imbuing that band’s thrillingly eclectic take on nu-ravey pop with an irrepressible teenage energy. Now, in his mid-20s, he’s pouring varying thicknesses of woozy, 70s pop shimmer over Inji, sliding from joyous dance music to langorous balladry in a way that’s wildly inventive and surprisingly cohesive. He conjurs up Basement Jaxx on Party Zute/Learning to Love, Prince on opening track Occasion, and the bubbling pyschedelia of friend and past collaborator Connan Mockasin on A Good Sign. All the while, Dust’s skewed approach to synthpop, funk and electronica feels unbridled and explorative, serving as a reminder that pulling from a variety of influences can produce sparkling results when done by a capable pair of hands.

LA PRIEST - Party Zute / Learning To Love on SoundCloud
 

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