Dance music bangers with an eclectic twist by the popular Scottish electronic musician, DJ producer aka Joshua Mainnie from Edinburgh, who with this second LP after 2023’s When Will We Land?, explores themes of identity amid the beats and clever crate-digging soul samples. Siren-sounding, dark, menacing opener The Person You’d Like To Be is a talky number that in style slightly echoes the “Choose Life” opening of the film Trainspotting and the soundtrack numbers by Underworld with mantra self-instruction lines such as “Imagine yourself as a type of person you have dreamed of becoming”. Different is a skittery, jittery trap-hop club track. The mysteriously titled single Kimpton, also featuring O’Flynn, is an exotically orchestrated groove using African vocals from the Burkina Faso group Farafina’s 2012 track Mi Ho Miheia, while there’s a switch to soul and gospel on the beautiful All My Friends, using the melody and vocals of Jonah Thompson’s Get Involved. Another quiet, soulful and gentle track comes later with Childhood, using vocals from Otis Redding’s 1963 classic Pain In My Heart and various orchestral and other musical elements from Willie Hutch’s 1973 number I Choose You, and a mix of feelings on Marriage, using vocals and orchestral swirls from (My Heart Is) Closed for the Season by Bettye Swann (1968). The energy and pace various throughout, with the mid-section of the album with pulsating sweaty, catchy, acid distortions of About To Begin, to Still Riding, or the mellower head-nodding beats of Cars Pass By Like Childhood Sweethearts. There’s more talky, comedown meditations, featuring Séamus, suffering from an overdose of ‘fun’ on Machine Noise For A Quiet Daydream, but Like It’s Part of a Dance returns to a familiar syncopated sound. Closer Wandering Mt. Moon is a serene, cinematic gentle conclusion on a track mixing melancholy with happier moods by an artist who certainly knows how to manipulate and captivate a club audience. Out on Ninja Tune.
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