Donnacha Costello – Before We Say Goodbye review

Much like his 2001 masterpiece Together Is the New Alone, this LP taps into an ambient texture, but builds it with techno rhythms and pulsations. By keeping his club sentiment at bay, Costello delivers a subtle album that flows with the kind of natural current that is often lost within techno productions. Weaving in and out of styles, up and down tempo ranges, the LP is expertly crafted to take you on a journey that ebbs and flows with purpose. From the deep and melancholic but groovy slow burners such as “Leaving Berlin” and “A Warm Embrace” that set the LP off, Costello moves into an old school mood on “It’s What We Do” before hitting his stride with the more up tempo offerings of “No-One Is Watching” and the onomatopoeic “Roll It Out.”

On the second half of the album he winds things down with tracks like “With Me Still,” “Stretching Time,” the mournfully melodic “The Tug” and the beautiful “Last Train Home” which finishes the LP off in aptly reflective mood. Such is the musicality of Before We Say Goodbye that it feels like an album crafted outside of techno and underground dance, but at the same time using the sounds and the flavours of the genre to redefine the way we view ambient techno in the UK.

Review: Tom Jones