BULLION Vinyl & CDs

Review: Bullion continues to perfect his endlessly charming strain of modernist synth pop with this new album for Ghostly International. The lead single from the album sets the tone beautifully, as the mighty Carly Rae Jepsen lends her voice to 'Rare' for a blissful, woozy ride through exquisite song craft that calls back to AOR and soft rock as much as synthwave. Further guest spots arrive from Panda Bear and Charlotte Adigery, but as ever Bullion's own charisma remains the driving force on this latest dose of honey-coated audio pleasure from a master of the art.

Review: Bullion (Nathan Jenkins) returns with a surprise full-length album, Affection. Breaking from his irreverent electro-shanties for a minute, Affection reminds us of Jenkins' far-reaching capacities as a producer and songwriter, with each song on this expansive new LP centring on the titular theme of affection and intimacy. Avowing the sound advice that is not to take others' advice, Bullion's M.O. going into the record was to follow his instincts and treat the studio as a site of adventure; this is reflected as much in the album's roomy, deep and detuned pop ditties, which veer away from banger science and more into the slow dreams of warm synths, subtle progressions and emergent horizons. Carly Rae Jepsen's feature is the bait highlight on 'Rare', though star cuts like 'World_train' and 'Cinch' also catch us off guard.

Review: R&S Records warmed up on what was another fruitful year with the first full release from recent addition Bullion, and what a revelation it is! There's always been a craft and ingenuity to whatever the London producer has released, be it that Beach Boys meets Dilla debut or the stunningly inventive and psychedelic almost-album for Young Turks, but Say Arr Ee fully reveal's Bullion's new found confidence in his singing voice. This addition to Bullion's arsenal was first revealed on "Ralph", his contribution to the R&S compilation IOTDXI, and is explored fully on the two tracks here. On the title track Bullion chooses to mask it amidst a typically sumptuous pop arrangement built around oven warm synths, it is however overshadowed by the B Side. "What Does She Know" combines Bullion's undeniable craft for hazy electronic psychedelia with an actual song and deserves to be appreciated on a level equal to sometime label mate James Blake.