Simultaneously more of the same and a big departure for Andy Stott. The same: similar downcast vibe, similar dark and hazy atmosphere, the return of vocalist Alison Skidmore (his childhood piano teacher) from “Luxury Problems”. Different: way more variation in rhythmic structure (with more beatless passages and probably more breaks than 4/4 stuff), more fuzz and distortion on everything. Really great, (mostly) melancholy, atmospheric electronic music, with elements stitched together from all over the genre spectrum (ambient, downtempo, house/techno, jungle, dubstep). Truly something here for everyone (that likes dystopian electronic music).

RIYL: Burial, oOoOO, Martyn, 2562, Andy Stott, Demdike Stare, Millie & Andrea, (singles) James Blake, (singles) Mount Kimbie

1. very quiet for the first couple minutes (totally playable from :35, but mostly inaudible before that). pulses of something reminiscent of a foghorn that’s not actually a foghorn. slow synth strings start cutting in around 2:00. continues slowly droning that way for most of the duration, with a couple subtle new elements at the very end, and minor variations along the way. beatless. 6:24
2. soft bass hits, blown out nightdrive synth that’d make oOoOO jealous. cooed female vocals (also reminiscent of oOoOO). cavernous drums enter just before 2:30, with slightly distorted loping/stuttering kicks and ringing cymbals. builds, peaks, and breaks between 3 and 4 min. goes relatively quiet again till 5:30, then stays intense till almost the end. 6:37
3. chanting or organ? not sure. soft echoed female vocals. rhythm starts with metal clinking and compressor sounds around 1:40, gets 808 woodblocks added, then later bitcrushed cymbals. beat changes up around 3:30, to slinky/growling/dubby 808, but original elements (and other stuff) slowly get folded back in and it keeps going from where it’d left off. nice and dubby throughout. 8:08
4. drum machine chugs along with steady 4/4 kick, with double-time 808 cymbals, actually sounds like a lost LCD soundsystem beat. female vocals come in after 2:00, and long pulses of low midrange synth for the bassline. this actually bears a lot of resemblance to DFA stuff, or some of the glass candy i’ve heard (but you probably wouldn’t mistake it for either). 5:32
5. shimmering synth and bell washes. synth washes slowly start hiccupping and turn into pulses, then disappear into the bells around 1:30. short silence, then clicky rhythm starts. big breaky tuned kicks come in around 2:00, then the bells start coming back in, then the synth washes/pulses not long after. clicky part of the rhythm starts getting distorted around 3:00. 4:58
6. shiny reverbed synth pulses. cymbals and sampled breaths slowly come up starting around :30. beat kicks in around 1:15, a skipping break, a little brittle and almost burial-ish, but surrounded by a sound filling the cymbal role that makes it feel very housey. then drums get overdriven/distorted, other breathy/cooing samples get folded in, as well as some short dimly glowing distorted synth runs. simultaneously has a chill downtempo feel and a lot of nervous energy. 6:09
7. rugged stripped down dubstep percussion and effects. lots of grit all over, and some ring mod on the kick (pretty much the only melody). ticky and intricate, but funky. kind of splits the difference between ramadanman and distance. 4:35
8. skittering drum machine with lots of echo on the cymbals. bass guitar (live?). vocal and synth sounds melt together, till a couple minutes in when actual lyrics start (not way up front, but not buried). pads in the background reminiscent of burial. most hopeful sounding thing on the album. 6:29
9. cavernous bass guitar, sounds like you can hear sliding along the strings. synth washes slowly fade up and fold in, along with computer bleeps and indecipherable vocals. a more mournful and distinct synth line joins around the midpoint. new synth wash takes over briefly around 4:00. beatless. 4:55

recommended: 2, 6, 8, 3 (but all very good)