01: MMM
‘NOUS SOMMES MMM’
(MMM 12″)
“Entrancing, divine rave music that takes the heady energy of vintage hardcore and combines it seamlessly with the to-the-millimetre efficiency of modern Germany. It also, despite its day-glo exuberance, is restrained, fading before outstaying its welcome, ensuring that you want to hear it again.” – full review here
02: JAMES BLAKE
‘BUZZARD & KESTREL’
(from THE BELLS SKETCH EP, HESSLE AUDIO)
“The melody’s so pleasant that it’s hard to focus on anything else, but when you start to examine the track and notice those tortured vocal samples and that same skeleton dance rhythm, not to mention the malevolent sub-bass, you realise that ‘Buzzard and Kestrel’ is far from friendly.” – the month in… bass
03: ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI
‘ROUND AND ROUND’
(4AD 7″ / download)
“Ariel has one of the most affecting voices in modern pop music, and it’s only enhanced by the backing vocals and professional recording level found here. I don’t know how much attention Pink pays to those who he’s influenced, but intentionally or not, he shows them who’s boss here on maybe the most radio-friendly record he’s ever made.” – full review here
04: ADDISON GROOVE
‘FOOTCRAB’
(SWAMP81 12″)
“If you’ve been to a dubstep night this year, or indeed, a night with any vague connection to dubstep, then you’ve probably heard ‘Footcrab’. It’s the one that goes “footcrab footcrab footcrab footcrab”, though there’s always the chance you misheard it as “woodcraft”. And it’s absolutely brilliant.” – full review here
05: FOREST SWORDS
‘MIARCHES’
(from DAGGER PATHS, OLDE ENGLISH SPELLING BEE LP)
Hailing from the Wirral, Forest Swords recently released an exquisite debut album, Dagger Paths, combining influences from strung-out psychedelic rock, reggae and even dubstep into something surprisingly captivating and coherent. Comparisons to labelmates James Ferraro and Ducktails are inevitable, but ‘Swords’ sound is actually far more fleshed out and balanced than theirs, and groovy without being, you know, groovy – witness exemplary album opener ‘Miarches’.
06: BOK BOK feat. BUBBZ
‘CITIZENS DUB’
(BLUNTED ROBOTS 12″)
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“If you thought that was seasick, then it’s nothing compared to ‘Citizens Dub’, Bok Bok’s new 12″ for Blunted Robots. No female vocal this time; Jinder’s cooing is replaced by drunken rambling from rapper Bubbz (“the floor’s gone all swervy and shit … they can’t all be cute, that’s the drink”) who’s effectively describing his own backing track – the synths here roll harder than before, their spinning heads practically at right angles to each other at times” – full review here
07: ERYKAH BADU
‘STRAWBERRY INCENSE’
(from NEW AMERYKAH PART 2, UNIVERSAL MOTOWN)
“Fans now have a chance to hear more material from New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh), in the form of a collaboration with Madlib, titled ‘Strawberry Incense’ … Badu’s vocals perfectly complimented over a harp-centred production by the Stones Throw man, who himself has released three albums already this year. Or something like that.” – stream here
08: ACTRESS
‘MAZE’ (LONG VERSION)
(HONEST JON’S 12″)
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Darren Cunningham’s first 12″ for Honest Jon’s was essential listening, not for A-side ‘Paint, Straw & Bubbles’, nor for the excellent Zomby remix of that track, but for the extended version of ‘Maze’, a track from his forthcoming sophomore LP. A slight departure from the claustrophobic techno sound he’s increasingly known for, ‘Maze’ is an expansive electro mood-piece that put us in mind of Chris & Cosey, John Carpenter and, in a roundabout sort of way, Kraftwerk.
09: FUDGE FINGAS
‘ME & U’
(from ABOUT TIME EP, PRIME NUMBERS 12″)
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Crikey, it’s difficult to take seriously – let alone fall in love with – an artist called Fudge Fingas, but when said artist presents us with this kind of pacey, heartstring-tugging future-boogie, we have to reconsider our position. Fudge’s way with a Rhodes chord, not to mention his overall grasp of arrangement, bear really strong fruit on ‘Me & U’; there’s no jazz noodling, the groove is succulent but streamlined, and the melody is pure gold. Top marks.
10: ELEVEN POND
‘WATCHING TREES’
(from COLD WAVES & MINIMAL ELECTRONICS VOL.1, ANGULAR LP)
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You wait 20 years for a cold wave compilation and then two of the buggers come along at once. Having been blown away by The Minimal Wave Tapes on Stones Throw, we were worried that Angular’s Cold Waves & Minimal Electronics Vol.1 might prove something of a damp squib. How wrong we were. Focussing on flamboyant synth-pop primed for the dancefloor, its a treasure-trove of divine obscurities; it’s difficult to pick a favourite, but none has made us grin quite like Eleven Pond’s ‘Watching’.
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