Search results: Black House

Review: UK based musical collective Jilk have made a name for themselves as specialists of a particular type of understated electronica. Some, including their own members, have compared it to the sound of a haunted bedroom, which kind of makes sense. It's intimate, there's a deeply humanistic and acoustic bent to the work, and so much tangible atmosphere you can sense the spirits surrounding each arrangement.
Syrup House is no exception to the rule, but we do find the gang bringing elements of analogue house to the fore, and merging this to great effect with dream pop and tender instrumentation. Deep, immersive music that is at once playful yet thoughtful, reflective but forward thinking, and - at times - surprisingly dance floor ('128 Rushes', for example). A quiet epic, for want of phrasing that feels a little less cliched.

Review: The third full-length from experimentalist punk/hip-hop trio Death Grips originally arrived in 2013, just a mere year on from their exceptionally warped debut LP The Money Store and its equally depraved sophomore follow up No Love Deep Web. Made up of math-rock drummer extraordinaire Zach Hill, programmer and synth mangler Andy Morin, and of course the confrontational MC Ride; Government Plates proved the collective were seemingly unable to artistically sit still, while refusing to exude a modicum of stagnation in their prolific early days. Celebrating its ten year anniversary, while just finishing up a chaotic headline set at this year's Outbreak Fest held in Manchester, the mystique and allure of Death Grips has only continued to swell with time, and this overlooked gem (as it falls between two of their most quintessential projects) couldn't be more in need of vital appreciation and reappraisal.

Review: It can often take months or even years of therapy to even begin to start addressing the real reason you're in the room talking to a trained professional. For Gazelle Twin, it has taken three albums - and more than a decade - to get to a point where it feels comfortable enough to turn her razor sharp songwriting gaze inwards. So, whereas before we heard observations on outward looking subject matter, here we take a turn for the insular. The result is an altogether darker experience, musically and thematically. There's a constant sense of drama and tension to this art-pop odyssey, and subjects such as childhood trauma - and its impact on our adult selves - are never off the table. Almost operatic, while there's plenty here to challenge, not least the universal expectation that later in life things get less scary, ultimately Black Dog is also about overcoming and confronting our most existential fears.

Review: As the vibrant and colourful cover artwork makes clear, Moon Boots latest album for Anjunadeep - his second following well-received 2017 debut "First Landing" - is a wonderfully kaleidoscopic and positive affair full of cheery, dancefloor-friendly songs and picturesque instrumentals (see the twinkling "Trance & Dental"). The American producer is a master at blurring the boundaries between radio-friendly house, deep synth-pop and nu-disco, and much of "Bimini Road" is based around this accessible and summery musical intersection. There are a few pleasing curveballs dotted across the LP, though, including the title track's piano-heavy Balearic chug and the sunny two-step garage-pop of Gary Saxby hook-up "Gary's House".