Sub Focus

DnB. Needs a couple of things: a pounding beat and an incessant baseline. Necessary, but not sufficient. This album sounds like someone figuring out how their digital analogue workstations come together, a copy-and-paste of individual ideas rather than a collection of tunes. I suspect because it is. 

This is not a bad record but there are large stretches where nothing holds your attention. Generic beats, lush synth washes, clean tenor and soprano vocals, and nothing else. However when this is good it is stupendous. The opening track "Let The Story Begin" is the standout, with its signature slow multi octave sweeps in the melody being an instantly recognisable hook. The variety of sounds on offer is good too, switching from DnB to trance in moments. Sometimes capturing the austerity of Autechre and sometimes sounding like an 80s Casio keyboard.

A most frustrating album. There are some astonishing singles in here but all together it is merely kind of OK. Later works are much more mature and are a better starting point for this artist.