The Chainsmokers review – EDM party animals on the rampage
The amiable New York duo shovel in all the hits and drops in a euphoric show that would benefit from slowing down occasionally
Fenech-Soler: Zilla review – energetic but unexciting electro-pop
With their namesake, bassist Daniel Fenech-Soler, having exited the band last year alongside fellow co-founder Andrew Lindsay, these days the Northamptonshire outfit operate solely as a vehicle for the remaining members, brothers Ross and Ben Duffy. Zilla is the third … Continue reading
Sinkane: Life & Livin’ It review – sunny-side-up sing-alongs and slinky rhythms
Cult Nigerian electro-funkster William Onyeabor, whose 70s and 80s music experienced a renaissance in recent years, sadly died last month, but he has a spiritual successor in Ahmed Gallab, AKA Sinkane. Gallab’s time leading the Atomic Bomb! Band – in … Continue reading
Future Politics: Austra review – glossy sounds and soaring vocals
The distinctive vocals of Katie Stelmanis bring humanity and softness to an album that explores the possibilities inherent in a post-human world
A Shadow in Time: William Basinski review – multilayered and hypnotic
An extended and mournful tribute to David Bowie features alongside a hypnotic title track on the experimental composer’s latest offering
Austra: Future Politics review – theatrical pop for alienated people
In Katie Stelmanis’s dystopia, we are an anxious species. The Canadian songwriter and producer’s third album describes a world in which technology alienates us. Its title track – about greed, the “system” and a need to fight evil with empathy … Continue reading
Tycho: Epoch review – studies in electronic inconsequence
Nominations for the electronic music Grammy are generally awarded to the year’s least exciting electronic music, and so it proves with this instrumental outfit headed by Californian producer Scott Hansen, whose Epoch is in with a shout for the 2017 … Continue reading
Wiley: The Godfather review – grime originator delivers a blockbuster
Not only did he help invent grime back in the early noughties with his frostbitten take on garage production, Wiley was one of the few to successfully transition into pop. And with grime now back in the zeitgeist, his demeanour on … Continue reading
Bonobo: Migration review – pensive ambient electronica from a nomadic soul
It might not be the revolution the music world is pining for, but streaming services have recently reported an explosion in the popularity of ambient world electronica. Good timing for the doyen of percussive atmospherics, Simon Green, who returns with … Continue reading
Sohn: Rennen review – affected modern blues with some intriguing touches
Straddling the worlds of electronica and nu-R&B, British musician Christopher Taylor’s output can be loosely divided into two separate entities. Zoom in and the electronic productions that form the skeleton of his second record come into focus: muggy, oppressive tapestries … Continue reading
Brian Eno: Reflection review – soothing, but sobering
The ambient overlord returns with a magnificently peaceful album – which is also released in an edition that endlessly rewrites itself
Daniel Avery: DJ-Kicks review – master technoist at work
Related: Daniel Avery’s favourite tracks DJ mixes often get short shrift compared to studio albums: they’re not entirely new creations and anyway, with streaming sites curating intuitive playlists for your every mood, surely the skill for selecting music is becoming … Continue reading
GFOTY: Call Him a Doctor review – irreverent pastiche of a ‘basic bitch’
Like her PC Music compatriot Hannah Diamond, GFOTY (it stands for Girlfriend of the Year) is part parody. Specifically, the persona of 26-year-old Londoner Polly-Louisa Salmon is pastiching the “basic bitch”, that memetic term denoting myopically consumerist and dispiritingly dim … Continue reading