Electronica can be a cold, dark, and desolate place sometimes. Then the wind comes in and blows everything away. Since 2007, Darkstar have been releasing singles and receiving acclaim far beyond their dubstep community. Their 2009 track, "Aidys Girl is a Computer" (included here), managed to sneak into Pitchfork.com's Top 100 Tracks of 2009. As Darkstar were recording their debut album, they scrapped the entire project and recruited in vocalist James Buttery to shore up the original duo of James Young and Aiden Whalley. Instead of a typical dubstep release, the trio instead came out with one that has more in tune with trip hop and downtempo."In The Way" starts off North with a sound reminiscent of an 80s horror movie before the strings and piano are brought in midway through to bring in some light. An old Human League B-side gets the cover treatment with "Gold". A compressed, slow roll through the original's upbeat facade gives North one of its standout tracks. "Under One Roof" contains a beat that sounds like a spastic ping pong ball being knocked back and forth and features the album's finest vocal performance. Elsewhere, glitchy vocals are hung over quiet, hymnal like tracks with the odd synthesizer wash.
On a whole, North can at times get bogged down by its own bleakness. However, Darkstar clearly have their sights set on knocking down genres and blurring lines. Here's to hoping they never take the path that is expected of them.
6.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment