After 2017's eponymous album, the London-based but Belfast born electronic and dance DJ and producers and musical magpie duo of Matthew McBriar and Andrew Ferguson return with a 90s-rave-inspired second helping to build on their longstanding love of 70s disco, Chicago house, Detroit techno and Italo disco that fuelled their original and very popular blog, Feel My Bicep and a now nearly 70-hour-long eclectic playlist on Spotify. They’ve been prolific in releasing a around a dozen extended releases and EPs since 2011, but this second album dives unashamedly more into a 90s rave sound with a variety of interesting samples. The overall feel recalls a mixture of Leftfield and Underworld, Orbital and Chemical Brothers, particularly evident on opener Atlas, Fir, Sundial with its ghostly, desert-evoking vocals, X and Saku with the breathy Clara La San. But alongside all the interweaving rave and softcore, there are all sorts of intriguing oddities along the way, drifting samples of music from around the world, expressing their love of being in multicultural, east London, now as much in their identity as Belfast – shaped by two isles. There are monk-like chants on the ambient Lido, for example, but strangest of all, the minimalist Apricot, which has a 1958 recording of traditional Malawian singers and a Bulgarian choir, also on Rever. Overall a mixed bag of clever, eclectic low-key rave that has some magical surprises with its retro nostalgia. Out on Ninja Tune.
Feel free to also check out our favourite albums of 2020 here:
Fiona Apple to Lianne La Havas to Yves Tumor: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 1
Agnes Obel to Bob Dylan, Phoebe Bridgers to Sault: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 2
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