2013: Joe Gilbey's Favourite Tracks

As Joe Sherwood said on his own 'Favourite Tracks of 2013' list, although one may be led to believe that an end of year tracks list should primarily consist of tracks produced by those on the same person's albums list, there is far more to the process than that. An album is usually written with all of the tracks on it in mind, and so the finished product gives off a vibe that is similar at the start of the album to the end of the album; it is a continual piece of art. A single, however, is usually produced for mainstream entertainment purposes in order for an artist to get out their piece of work and showcase it to the world as a glimpse of their abilities as a musician. This, therefore, made choosing the greatest tracks exceedingly difficult as 2013 has been such a brilliantly diverse year, and although they have been ordered, I feel that any track could slide into my top 10 depending on what mood I'm in. Anyway, here's the list.

2013: Joe Gilbey's Favourite Albums

I like keeping my forenotices short and sweet, and so all I really have to say is that 2013 has been an absolutely fucking insane year in the world of music. Thank you to everyone that has made the year such a good one for //APEX, we promise to supply you with many more great features in 2014. But yeah, here's my long-awaited AOTY list. Enjoy.

2013: Joe Sherwood's Favourite Tracks

You'd think that a favourite tracks/singles list would converge mainly around one's favourite albums, but to my mind a good album is one that retains a degree of uniformity quality-wise, making it rather difficult to dissect and split up the overall experience. That said, I've done precisely that for a number of tracks here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that my favourite albums list isn't particularly reflected in this list of my favourite tracks of the past year. It contains plenty of singles, non-album tracks, mixtape cuts, and even stuff from albums I didn't really care for - my number one pick here confirms this sentiment rather nicely. Ultimately, I prefer the full album experience, but my enjoyment of single tracks this year has certainly been expanded over the past twelve months, and a large selection of 75 seems to suggest that. So, having reveled in the long players of 2013, here's to the musical short form.

P.S. Yes, Miley Cyrus has indeed made the list, even cracking the top 50. Sometimes, it's just too difficult to deny some pretty good pop music.

2013: Joe Sherwood's Favourite Albums

When it comes to making these year-end lists, I always try to pick out trends in my listening habits, and I always come up with nothing. I'm not trying to say I have an amazingly diverse taste in music, because I don't particularly; only a few rock albums have made it onto my top 50, and unbelievably there are no representatives for metal. The lack of any real dominant focus in my music listening most likely owes to the increasingly fragmented state of music. We live in the age of information, and pretty much any record of one's choosing is available to stream, purchase or (perhaps) download for nothing within a few clicks. Moreover, a lot of the best records this year are available for free at the artist's choice, and it's telling that 3 of my top 10 albums can be downloaded legally without charge. And, the definition of what exactly an "album" is has become hazy of late, with mixtapes and EPs slotting alongside commercially available, full-length releases. The point I'm trying to make here is that this top 50 isn't some sort of vanity exercise to show how unique my tastes are, nor is it an overblown advertisement for independent labels. It's simply a showcase of my personal favourites from the past year, and any diversity is most likely down to the prominence of the internet rather than a conscious decision on my part to appear on trend.

As ever, there was some unpleasant culling that had to be done to keep this list at 50 records, and some really rather good albums are missing from this list. I would honor them here, but there are far too many to reel off, so I may make a separate post for the honorable mentions. I'll also include a Spotify playlist at the foot of this post with some of my favourite tracks from each album (provided the album is actually on Spotify, of course). Please, don't dwell on the rankings too much, because every single one of these 50 records is absolutely worth checking out.

Thanks for reading //APEX this year, and I hope you can find something you enjoy from this list.

2013: Favourite Album Covers

2013 has unquestionably been a landmark year in music; with comebacks and breakthroughs, debuts and swan songs, Sky Ferreira and Miley Cyrus, it has been more than an eventful 12 months. However, here at //APEX we're a little more easily amused by the little things in life, so welcome to our 30 finest album covers of the year.

P.S. big up to the artists at DONDA that have actually managed to squeeze 2 Chainz onto an end of year list.
Joe Gilbey


Never judge a book by its cover, or so the old adage goes. We're not ones to do that, but instead we'll opt to judge a cover by its cover for our favourite pieces of album artwork from the past 12 months. These picks fall under numerous criteria: conceptual statements, imagery related to the music, or on a more basic level the simple aesthetic value of the art. Here are 30 of our favourite covers, in no particular order, for you to feast your eyes on before the real business of year-end lists commences (ie albums and tracks). Enjoy.
Joe Sherwood

New Music: Dalglish

The Berlin-based PAN has been slowly but surely building up one of the most consistently impressive back catalogues in experimental music. One of their latest entries is Niaiw Ot Vile, the enigmatic Chris Douglas' fourth release under the Dalglish moniker. The ten abstractions of track titles (and indeed the name of the record) are indicative of the music within, which sees Douglas explore the serene ("Set Nuin"), the dissonant ("Noscrlu"), and in the case of the album's centrepiece "Ciaradh", a crystalline amalgamation of both moods. Stream "Ciaradh" below, and read an interview with Dalglish here [via The Quietus].

Review: Eminem

Eminem Marshall Mathers LP 2 (Aftermath Entertainment)

I haven't a fucking clue how to open this review, so I shan't. Here's a (Facebook) dialogue of mine and Joe Sherwood's time with the Marshall Mathers LP 2:

Gilbey: My iTunes play count for MMLP2 currently stands at 18 and I still don't have the foggiest clue whether I love it or not. Thinking about it, its a hell of a lot better than Recovery although that isn't too hard I guess... yeah I love it.
Sherwood: tbf recovery was a pile of crap. this however... its much better than anything I thought a man of ems vintage could produce
Gilbey: I think his vintage has actually worked to his advantage on this is I'm honest. Most of the beats that he and Rubin worked on are testament to many of the tracks on the first LP, that's probably why I like Brainless so much... that beat is raw.
Sherwood: yeah man, having heard the beat for rap god i wasn't exactly expecting much, but on the whole i have to say the production is above average for late-period em.
Sherwood: speaking of rap god... what do you think of it
Gilbey: Well let's just put it this way, when he was on Radio 1 with Zane Lowe on Monday and revealed that he freestyled the whole track, I think I creamed... his flow is just absolutely untouchable. That shit about Ray J and Fabolous? My gosh that had me in bits.
Sherwood: if it was indeed a freestyle, then i guess em truly is the goat. shame he had to do it all over a wack beat
Sherwood: and the homophobia aint gonna win him any points in these hyperaware times

Gilbey: Talking of which, that Craig Jenkins Pitchfork review really pissed me off... I think he slated his controversial lyrics more than they reviewed the actual musical content. I'll admit that his politically incorrect slurs go too far sometimes but come ON man, it doesn't make him a bad rapper...

Sherwood: well em is operating within a genre which is heavily reliant on lyrics
Sherwood: but yeah you still cant knock his technical ability

Gilbey: Despite that, 90% of his lyrics are absolutely stellar, you can appreciate that after just listening to the first 30 seconds or so of Rap God. "...they said I rap like a robot so call be Rapbot. But for me to rap like a computer must be in my genes/jeans, I've got a laptop in my back pocket." JEEEEEEEZ

Sherwood: especially if theyre straight off the top of his dome

Gilbey: I actually read somewhere - I think it was in Complex's interview with Rick Rubin - that he writes lyrics all day every day to keep his mind exercised, and that he discards about 98% of the raps he writes. Surely that's gotta make him one of the most committed in the game?

Sherwood: probably, its just that said commitment is no substitute for quality lyrics, something hes lacked of late

Gilbey: Fair point, I thought his references to I'm Back and The Real Slim Shady in So Far... were pretty damn cool though, ngl. Anyway enough of the lyrics, what about the features?

Sherwood: fuck rihanna, all im saying
Sherwood: kendrick had a good turn on love game tho, some quality punchline rapping

Gilbey: To add to that, fuck Nate Ruess.

Sherwood: tru say

Gilbey: Kendrick's verse is so hard. Its been nice to see him feature on a lot of tracks in 2013 actually, he seems to have a very different street-smart persona when rapping on his own tracks to his comical, almost angry, approach on tracks like Nosetalgia and Control

Sherwood: its great having em and kendrick on the same track. like, one of mainstream hip-hops biggest artists collaborating with one of mainstream hip-hops most promising stars

Gilbey: I posted on Twitter a while ago that Kendrick's got the potential to become the greatest rapper alive and I'd definitely still stand by that. YOU WANNA SEE A DEAD BODY?

Sherwood: on a slightly related note, dig the kendrick sample on 18+ new mixtape
Sherwood: back on topic doe
Sherwood: is mmlp2 something of a swansong? a new beginning? or just another record?

Gilbey: That's an interesting one actually. I certainly wouldn't say its a swansong because he's still easily got another couple of albums in him, from what I've seen in interviews and documentaries he treats rap like a way of life so he'll want to hold onto it for as long as he can. A new beginning however... I'm really not sure, its difficult to say considering its a sequel to a 13 year old album. We'll just have to wait and see I guess

Sherwood: so, another record? id say so, albeit better than all of his recent stuff

Gilbey: Yeah I'd say its his best piece since The Eminem Show 11 years ago, loved that shit. One last thing, Em won a Global Icon Award at the MTV EMAs for MMLP2... deserved?

Sherwood: hmmm, probably. em IS a global icon, and mmlp2 is a pretty decent album of his, so alls good in my book

New Video: Kanye West

I actually quite liked the divisive Yeezus, but I can't shake the niggling thought that it may just be an elaborate troll on Mr. West's part. Seemingly out to confirm my suspicions, Yeezy released the video for the album closer "Bound 2", and I absolutely love it. How could a guy with millions and millions of industry dollars behind him put out something so damn tacky, featuring sweeping scenery (complete with prancing horses), a still motorbike/greenscreen combo, and, above all, a topless Kim Kardashian? Sorry guys, but Yeezus has had you all on. I imagine he's laughing his arse off right now at all the hatred and bile in the comments section. He knew he would cause a frenzy with this shit. Career suicide? Nah. The "Bound 2" video is simply verification that Kanye West is one of the most self-aware artists in mainstream music, who knows full well the power of his brand and how it can create schisms amongst the public, as well as completely disregarding (nay, mocking) what it means to be a superstar in the musical era of vapid consumerism.

P.S. The song itself is decent, and something of a throwback to College Dropout-era Yeezy in sound.

New Music: James Ferraro

James Ferraro does love fucking with his admirers. Although his latest album, NYC, Hell 3:00 AM, will most likely end up ranking highly on my own albums of the year list, it's a rather confusing entry into his artistic oeuvre. And, in typical Ferraro style, before anybody can even begin to figure it all out, he decides to drop some new music! What a bugger. Anyway, new Ferraro material is always a good thing, so be sure to check out God of London below for a further blast of postmodern anxiety.

Review: The Range

The Range Nonfiction (Donky Pitch, 2013)

Nonfiction is the debut full-length from Donky Pitch's very own producing trailblazer, James Hinton, who has been enjoying a considerable buzz over the past year or so over the release of the EPs Disk and Seneca. However, upon hearing the intricate farrago of chillwave, footwork and jungle beats on his latest assemblage, it is evident that this 25 year old arriviste hasn't only appeared on the IDM scene in order to put out generic dance records and make a living off techno hypebeasts; he has come to expand the ever reforming barriers of modern bass music.

As Pitchfork rightly claimed, "Nonfiction isn't an album easily pegged to any scene or narrative currently circulating about electronic music", as it fluctuates between faster paced tracks with warm vintage vibe, (e.g. 'FM Myth'), and low-key R&B influenced numbers that sit comfortably in the stoner psychedelia spectrum. Despite the presence of more club-orientated members like 'The One' and the aforementioned progressively bassy 'FM Myth', the album always feels tightly packed and neatly presented due to Hinton's conscious ear for production and harmonious juxtapositions, similar to some of UK born Squarepusher's earlier releases such 'I Wish You Could Talk' and 'Do You Know Squarepusher'.

Quirky drum patterns and warped synthesisers take centre stage on Nonfiction, but hard-edged vocals and the ebb and flow of almost tranquil piano pieces are also exceedingly prominent throughout the album. This, combined with the contrasting foggy echoes of muffled grime samples, leaves you with a slightly inebriated feel as the intelligently apposing oppositions draw you further and further into the dense layers of IDM fantasia.  

All in all, given Hinton's ability to take sounds from a multitude of complex genres and mish-mash together in such consonance, it is perfectly clear as to why he goes by the name of The Range - the future looks extremely promising for the underestimated 25 year old.

Review: Death Grips

Death Grips Government Plates (Third Worlds, 2013)

"Fuck you". It's an appropriate lyric for Death Grips. "Fuck you" is Death Grips to a T. They say "fuck you" to record labels and fans alike. MC Ride's various quotables demonstrate an extreme lack of self-preservation - he don't give a fuck about himself. All signs point towards two middle fingers to everyone and everything. Their latest "fuck you" is Government Plates, released with absolutely zero fanfare onto the unsuspecting Deep Web, complete with visual accompaniments to each of the eleven tracks. Suffice to say, the people of the blogosphere lost their shit, all of them scrambling to write a feature on Government Plates as fast as they possibly could. It's strange to think a band as hostile and abrasive as Death Grips could invoke this sort of madness, but it's as good a testament as any to the group, who have been turning heads since 2011 with their incendiary blend of hip-hop, industrial, noise, rock, etc. No group working in the confines of hip-hop sounds quite like Death Grips, and Government Plates is possibly the furthest-removed from hip-hop they've reached in their short, trailblazing lifespan.

What's initially striking about this release is that MC Ride's vocal involvement seems to have been significantly pared back. A lot of the dense lyricism that blew your system on The Money Store and No Love Deep Web has been reduced to short, stabbing phrases. Take the previously released "Birds", wherein MC Ride does his best Lil B impression: he clumsily stumbles over his words, pays little attention to conventional rhyme schemes (not that Death Grips are renowned for their conventional approach to lyricism) and just generally sounds unfocused, disorientated even. It's a bewildering change of pace from a guy who previously screamed lyrical abstractions about paranoia, murder and Lady Gaga. Other tracks seem to remove Ride from the equation altogether, such as the twitchy "I'm Overflow", but his ferocious spirit is ever-present throughout the album by means of vocal manipulation and sampling, despite not having as much to say this time around.

Flatlander and Zach Hill's production on Government Plates remains resolutely Death Grips, but perhaps even less considerate of song structure than ever before. Stylistically this release lies somewhere between the cold, minimal No Love Deep Web and the overblown Money Store, with face-melting synths clattering against hard hitting drumming: the Dylan-referencing "You might think he loves you for your money but I know what he really loves you for it's your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat" opens the album fantastically with the sound of breaking glass, high-pitched skronk, Ride's disturbed shrieking and Hill's massive, masculine beats. While the pace is often altered, the intensity of this album remains constant, and it's indicative of a group who still abound with frenetic energy two years on from their original incision into hip-hop.

Primitive and guttural as ever, Government Plates is more than the stopgap it could have been. Instead, it's another highly satisfying collection of paranoid, twisted tracks, albeit with more emphasis placed on the frazzled music than MC Ride's mind-bending raps. In true Death Grips style, it also happens to be a free download, so say "fuck you" to everyone you know and cop this shit while it's hot. Tomorrow isn't coming, it's here right frickin' now, and it sounds insane.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Review: Laurel Halo

Laurel Halo Chance of Rain (Hyperdub, 2013)

Ina Cube has followed an interesting musical trajectory under her Laurel Halo moniker. The sound of Laurel Halo is in constant flux, be it the ethereal, warped pop of the King Felix EP, the dislocated dance music of Hour Logic or the queasy ambiance of last year's Quarantine. A few months ago, her Behind the Green Door EP was released, which proved to be a meticulously crafted not-quite-house excursion which defied any suitable listening experiences; it wasn't repetitive enough for a gym playlist, nor was it quite as involving or forward-thinking as any previous releases.

In a way, defying convention is what the ever-evolving Laurel Halo project is all about. The aforementioned Quarantine was possibly the single most divisive release of 2012, and this divisiveness lay in Halo's controversial decision to leave her vocals untreated and at the forefront of the album's sound. The rift between the record's admirers and doubters was obvious, ranging from its rather conspicuous position atop The Wire magazine's end-of-year chart to angry commenters spewing bile over it (as one RateYourMusic reviewer eloquently puts it, "This is just fucking awful"). Chance of Rain sees Halo drop the vocals, or at least removes them from the forefront, and while it certainly won't prove to be as controversial as its predecessor, it's no less challenging for it. In fact, it's a markedly singular release in a year already filled to bursting point with alternative experiences.

On Chance of Rain, Halo is continuing to explore the dislocated techno/house of her Behind the Green Door EP. While the EP was steeped in the rigidity of said genres, this record is a far more contemplative and flexible record which manages to upend the archetypal techno sound. Opening track "Dr Echt", which takes its name from the Dutch word for a river ford, clears space with 80s jazz-esque electric piano keys, before "Oneiroi" fills the void with pulsating, subtly shifting synths and frenetic drum patterns. Throughout the album, displaced melodies are introduced and deftly worked into the record's framework; the title track features a particularly elegant piano arrangement, which completely alters the track's dynamic.

Ultimately, Chance of Rain is another exemplary entry into the canon of one of electronic music's finest current artists. Despite doffing its cap to the genres and movements that influence it, Chance of Rain never fully embraces them. Instead, it creates its own headspace, an airy dreamscape infiltrated by off-kilter techno beats and fragmented micro-repetitions of sound. Many, myself included, were initially disappointed that Halo's vocals wouldn't be resurfacing this time around, but the beauty and grace of this instrumental suite can make a case for itself.

Review: Milo

Milo Cavalcade (Hellfyre Club, 2013)

Milo, member of Scribble Jam champion Nocando's label Hellfyre Club, is the latest breakthrough in abstract hip-hop. You may be questioning yourself, "Abstract hip-hop? What on earth could that possibly imply?", but after listening to any of his 5 acclaimed releases, it will soon become strikingly clear. His music has been dubbed by Rate Your Music as being a part of the rap sub-genre 'nerdcore', and with track names such as 'Sophistry and Illusion' and lyrics based around 'boiling the elements down into the axioms', it is evident that Milo clearly isn't your generic rap artist.

Cavalcade is a mixtape that showcases the self-reflective and mindful lyrics that truly epitomise Milo, and although I have thoroughly enjoyed every piece of work since his debut album I Wish My Brother Rob Was Here, I feel like his lyrical adeptness and general artistic awareness have evolved dramatically over the past two years and have harmoniously mingled together to create one of the most conceptual mixtapes of 2013. This 'awareness' comes through well in the first track, 'Geometry and Theology', which contains a thought-provoking concept from the late Ludwig Wittgenstein in the opening minute about the origins of language, and then transitions to a dreamy spoken-word verse that flits between themes of the generic fangirl on Twitter and the Book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament. It sounds like it should be an awkward mish-mash of trivial nonsense, but in reality, it works so perfectly well.

Although none of the tracks on Cavalcade reduced me to tears like 'The Ballad of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy' on the EP Milo Takes Baths so very nearly did, producer Riley Lake's airy, dream-like production really creates an overwhelming atmosphere; the samples from America and shadowy drum beats fluctuate between creating a quiet, ambient atmosphere and a strangely pleasant harsh one.

All in all, Cavalcade marks the beginning of a promising career for Milo, and I am thoroughly intrigued as to whether he shall continue in this direction on future releases.
 

Review: Mosh

Mosh Empire (Self-released, 2013)

Since the release of his debut album, Monarchy, in late November 2012, Adam Bignell (A.K.A Mosh) has become a well-established name on many sites such as Soundcloud and Bandcamp. With tens of thousands of hits within a few months and much positive feedback on social networking sites, the release boded well for the future, and for this reason Empire was born.

Empire is an ingenious blend of various genres, predominantly those of electro/punk persuasion, which have been slightly lacking this year due to the primary focus on a more soft-edged finish, and so it has been interesting to hear Mosh's personal take on the evolution of electronica. The foremost track, 'Empress', perfectly exemplifies the tone of the rest of the album due to the tranquil stringed Oriental instrumentals that open and close the track, and also underlie a powerful and imposing electronic bassline throughout; although it isn't a particularly abrasive listen, it isn't an album to be taken lightly.

My favourite track on Empire was one of the longer pieces, 'Zodiac Overdrive',which brings the album to a mid-point climax through the use of formidable overdriven electric guitars and indignant vocals from Melanie K.A. The controlled distortion of the various musical implements really emphasises the quality of Mosh's level of production which can be seen from start to finish on the album, and for this reason Empire is a definite must-listen.

Cassette Roundup, Volume 1

Independent record labels have really harnessed the potential of the internet through mediums such as Bandcamp and Soundcloud, and it means that whatever the label puts out can be heard by more people than a limited-run release would allow. Sure, it sacrifices the exclusivity of owning one of 50 copies of a tape, but as the major labels continue to stagnate, we need these boutique and web-based labels more than ever for exciting, challenging and new music. A few releases I've reviewed this year (JCCG, LAMPGOD and**Ł_RD//$M$) have been tapes, so to reflect the wealth of cassette releases out there in 2013 I have decided to launch this new series: Cassette Roundup. Every so often, I'll tackle a few tapes which I feel are worth a few words and include a sample/stream for good measure.

Diamond Black Hearted Boy Father, Protect me. (Steak Au Zoo, 2013)

There's outsider hip-hop, and then there's this. Chino Amobi's Diamond Black Hearted Boy project has been going since 2008, but it hasn't seen many proper full-length releases; instead, his Bandcamp mainly features single tracks, all of them strange in their own right. Father, Protect me. is a continuation of his oddball approach to beat-making and soundscaping, and it may be one of the most singular hip-hop albums I've heard this year (possibly probably ever).

The title track is an exhilarating experience in and of itself, featuring broken drum loops, digital abrasion and a stuttering verse which is repeated throughout. Amobi has an almost Burial-esque approach to vocal samples on tracks such as "I just wanna be a r#97C57CE", wherein soulful voices are pitched up and looped ad infinitum. There are some rather strange samples across the album - I think I can hear the gravity hammer from the Halo games on "I don't need protection (You)", and I'm sure there'll be hidden pop-culture nuggets aplenty buried beneath the murky beats and noisy manipulation. That's all I can really muster up about Father, Protect me.: albums like this have to be heard to be believed.

Free Weed On the Moon / Get It 2Nite (Exo Tapes, 2013)

Erik Gage's releases as Free Weed carry the drug-induced hypnagogia one would expect from such a name: his previous releases feature whacked-out pop songs comprised of drum machines, distorted guitars, pianos and sloppy vocals, all veiled beneath a kush cloak. His cassette for Exo Tapes, released earlier this year, sees him clean up his sound a little bit for On the Moon, before retreating back into the clouds on Get It 2Nite.

The On the Moon side is probably his most immediate set yet, with upfront drum machines opening the proceedings. The lyrics are, rather predictably, stoner fare, with lines such as "I wanna have drugs for friends" and "You won't get high if you don't get high, if you won't get high"; it's not big, and it's not clever, but it's infectiously good fun. The Get It 2Nite side is more abstract, with the case in point being "I'm a Mermaid", in all its sub-aquatic glory. All in all, this tape is a pleasure to listen to, and you'll be sure to return for your Free Weed fix.
 

Street Thunder Bonfire Gecko Hex (Reckno, 2013)

Street Thunder doesn't do "releases" or "albums"; he/she/they/it instead operates in "transmission[s]", and the latest is Bonfire Gecko Hex, released in Reckno's October batch. Gibberish name aside, Bonfire Gecko Hex feels like some sort of spiritual rite. There's a certain earthiness and elemental quality suggested by the artwork, and it's carried into the recording itself - Street Thunder manages to shift the stasis with swelling, layered drones and subtle movements in sound, in a way that reflects a forest ecosystem.

Side A's "Dragon Bong" starts out with pulsating, melancholic strings, as if one was exploring a dark undergrowth or wading through a murky river, but just as it seems to slip into a groove the mood is suddenly altered by a shimmering loop, akin to the awakening of an ancient beast. Side B's "Chrome Swisher" begins as side A ended, with a twinkling loop underpinned by slowly-developing (but never threatening) noise. Towards the end of the track, a chasm is opened and the noise envelops all, before fading back into the darkness. Bonfire Gecko Hex, then, is a rather minimal, hallucinatory experience, but a gripping one nonetheless.

Review: Friendzone

Friendzone DX (Self-released, 2013)

The duo of James Laurence and Dylan Reznick, aka Friendzone, initially came into prominence in 2011, having made waves in the blogosphere with production for Bay Area cloud rappers Main Attrakionz - these two tracks, "Perfect Skies" and "Chuch", would later be released as instrumentals on Collection 1 (one of my favourite mixtapes of 2012). 2013 has proved to be another stellar year for Friendzone, with production credits for the likes of A$AP Rocky and Mykki Blanco and their own Kuchiburi Network 3 mix, and they've capped it off fantastically with DX, their first proper "album".

The day-glo cover art sets the tone rather nicely; DX creates an intimate headspace almost immediately with opener "Taswell", wherein a string sample is chopped, looped and paired with a booming beat, before heavy synths and fragmented vocals are bought to the fold. Such is the energy of Friendzone's sound that they can morph an Aphex Twin ambient work into an upbeat, dynamic banger on "RetailXtal" and fuse melancholic piano loops with cloud beats on "8AM", all while retaining their own distinctive style. In an increasingly homogenised world of hip-hop producers, the density of DX's production carries a lot of weight, and in a way, this is Friendzone's Donuts or Cosmogramma; it acknowledges its hip-hop and rap roots, but it never needs an MC to carry itself forward.

Friendzone are quick to distance themselves from their memetic namesake, as the oft-cited post on the group's Facebook goes:

"our name doesnt mean that sexist bullshit regarding girls putting "nice guys" in the friendzone. it's always meant your inner circle....

2013 is the year we take friendzone back from the bros"

If this was their mission statement for the calendar year, DX signifies the accomplishment of said mission. It's not only a love letter to the cloud rap scene they heavily contributed to, but it's also an indicator of where they're at this juncture and where they're going to take their sound in the future, and as such they've transcended the unfortunate connotations of their chosen moniker to become a powerful force in their own right.

//APEX Playlists: UK Represent

It is in mine and Joe Sherwood's best interests to bring as wide a selection of music as possible to the ears of the readers of //APEX, 'from the esoteric to the well-known'. For this reason, we have put together a 14 track playlist, containing pieces by underground UK artists that we feel to be highly underrated. Enjoy.

Review: John Butcher / Thomas Lehn / John Tilbury

John Butcher / Thomas Lehn / John Tilbury Exta (Fataka, 2013)

British upstarts Fataka have already amassed an impressive-looking catalogue of experimental musicians, boasting names such as Okkyung Lee, Matthew Shipp and Eddie Prévost, among others. Despite the prominence of these figures, Exta surely has to stand as the label's biggest release yet, in what is a meeting between three of the most celebrated artists in the world of free improvisation.

According to the label's website, 'exta were the organs of a sacrificed animal offered up to the gods - the lungs, heart, liver and gall bladder', and the five tracks here are named accordingly, albeit in Latin. It's difficult to find the musical connection to sacrificial rite on Exta, but perhaps it lies in the almost surgical precision of every sound that these musicians make. Precise improvisation may sound like an oxymoronic term, but in this case it's fully justified: Butcher, Lehn and Tilbury play off of each other so very well that the end result is frighteningly good.

There's a tension that runs throughout Exta, in a delicate balancing act between Butcher's writhing saxophone, Lehn's dry synthesizers and Tilbury's haunting piano. It's quite a spare assortment, but the recordings are never without occurrence, as the trio jump between eerie ambience, beautiful minimalism and unhinged chaos. As expected, the sonic palette of this album is fairly broad; the raspy slurping of Butcher's sax in "Cor", the trenchant piano in "Pulmo II" and the analogue bubbling of "Iecur" are just a few of the many intriguing sounds that are bought to the fold. The dynamism of Exta results in an ever-shifting, unpredictable experience, and as such it's a powerful, vital display from three of the very best in their field.
 

Review: Vic Mensa

Vic Mensa INNANETAPE (Self-released, 2013)

Following the split of Vic Mensa's rap group, Kids These Days, the future of the 19 year old was uncertain, so it was only natural for there to be much speculation as to whether his proposed debut mixtape would be a success or a complete flop. However, ever since he turned critics' heads after his stellar verse in Chance's "Cocoa Butter Kisses", Mensa has been quietly priming himself to break out of being a member of a not-so-successful rap group in order to shock the world with yet another Chi-town masterpiece, INNANETAPE.

There are various up-and-coming artists that feature on the tape including Chance The Rapper, Lili K and BJ The Chicago Kid, who recently attained new-found-fame through the incredibly successful release of Chance's second mixtape, Acid Rap, despite the fact that it wasn't released through a record label; an impressive achievement by any means. Ab-Soul (of Black Hippy) features on the track "Holy Holy", which shows off the strong flows of both himself and Mensa as they rap over a minimalistic underlying drum beat throughout the song, and with powerful vocals from BJ The Chicago Kid that emulate an early Frank Ocean, it is probably one of my favourite hip-hop tracks of the year. Other featuring artists include British singer-songwriter Eliza Doolittle and the multi-genre bassist Thundercat, who is most famous for his work with none other than Flying Lotus. Not a bad bunch of friends, eh?

I see INNANETAPE as being Vic Mensa's own version of 10 Day by Chance The Rapper. This of course isn't an offensive claim by any stretch of the imagination, but it just lacks a certain something, and although we hear moments of musical genius coming through on the tape, Mensa hasn't quite produced the finished product that we were oh so eagerly waiting to hear. Is it his flow? No. Is it his lyrics? Certainly not. Is it his choice of beat production? He's got Thundercat producing his tracks, are you fucking kidding me?! The only thing that Vic Mensa lacks, in my opinion, is direction; the tracks jump around too much for my liking, but considering that this is his second recognised solo release that definitely isn't something to worry about. This tongue-twisting teenager is definitely one to listen out for, and seems set to follow in Chance's footsteps by highlighting the dexterous and thoughtful side of Chi-Town rap.
 

Mix #2: //APEX 10k Mix

It sure feels good to hit 10,000 blog views, and to celebrate Joe and I have devised a mix that contains some of our favourite producers and artists - Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, Arca, DJ Rashad, Aphex Twin etc etc etc. It's all good stuff.

Thanks for checking out //APEX (or indeed J&J) over the past year or so, because seeing 10,000 pop up certainly left me feeling rather gratified, and I'd hazard a guess that Joe would say the same.

❤❤❤❤❤

//APEX 10k Mix by Joe Sherwood on Mixcloud

1. 18+ tbo_intro (MIXTA2E) 
2. Clams Casino Crystals (GTA V Soundtrack) 
3. Flying Lotus rest ez (July Heat) 
4. Ahnnu lit (pro habitat) 
5. BEBETUNE$ H20 (inhale C-4 $$$$$) 
6. Madvillain Sickfit (Madvillainy) 
7. Lee Gamble Dollis Hill (Diversions 1994-1996) 
8. D/P/I CLOUD S (Espresso Digital) 
9. Boards of Canada Dawn Chorus (Geogaddi) 
10. Jeremiah Jae x Beastie Boys Bl00d (Black Castle/Beastie Boys Remixes) 
11. Forest Swords Thor's Stone (Engravings) 
12. Hype Williams Unfaithful (One Nation) 
13. Jai Paul Track 10 (Jai Paul Demos) 
14. Paisley Parks Ghetto Jap (Бｈ○§†) 
15. DJ Rashad I Don't Give a Fuck (I Don't Give a Fuck) 
16. Hudson Mohawke You Got Money (Hudson's Heeters, Vol. 1 '06) 
17. Foodman this is fue (「IROIRO」) 
18. Arca Tapped In (Stretch 2) 
19. Aphex Twin Windowlicker (Windowlicker) 

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Review: JCCG

JCCG Eje (Department Tapes, 2013)

JCCG is Joao Costa Gonçalves, who also happens to be responsible for Mediafired, The Exhalers and Sofa Pits. These various projects, Mediafired in particular, have yielded some rather ethereal, transcendent music that plays with my emotions and soothes my eardrums, so I was naturally quite excited to hear the next release from the guy. A constant running throughout Gonçalves' soundworld is reverberation, and while you could almost say it is a gratuitously employed effect, its use in his work feels warranted by the effervescent, airy sound it creates - last year's A Pathway Through Whatever is a case in point, with its serene, blissful vapor jams leaving a lasting impression long after the echo had fizzled away.

This time around, JCCG isn't applying screw techniques to the readymades of Kate Bush or Queen, but is instead manipulating the sounds of his own guitar (although he does have a little assistance from Sonic Youth on "Fundos"). I find it quite difficult to rest a finger on this particular style, but whenever I listen to Eje I find it to be ever-so-slightly reminiscent of Fennesz or James Ferraro's guitar work, and those of you familiar with either of those artists will know that's quite the compliment. If I were to sum up Eje in a single word, it'd be 'serene'; in keeping with much of Gonçalves's back-catalogue, it is a blissful, pleasant experience throughout. Therein lies an issue, however. Such a singular sound can become rather monotonous after a while - this a problem that hampered Okkyung Lee's recent album Ghil, and it hinders Eje a little as well. The aforementioned Sonic Youth sample certainly adds textural diversity to the album, but those looking for a widely varied sonic palette may come away disappointed.

All in all, Eje is yet another good release from Gonçalves, whose particular brand of sun-soaked hypnagogia is a sound I'd love to hear more of, albeit explored further and experimented with. There is a winning formula somewhere within Eje's nooks and crannies, and I have no doubt that JCCG can source it, bottle it and utilise it in his next project, whatever that may be.

Review: Drake

Drake Nothing Was The Same (OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records & Republic Records, 2013)

It's here. Well, it technically isn't, it got leaked a few nights ago. But still, for the purposes of the review, it's here.

Ever since the start of 2013, the omnipresent OVO/Young Money rapper has been surrounded by nothing but impossibly high expectations, after he spontaneously drip-fed four brand new stellar tracks to the world over the course of a few months, including "Started From The Bottom", "Girls Love Beyonce, All Me", and "Hold On, We're Going Home". Critics were claiming that it was possible for the album to not only be Drake's best, but also for it to be one of the best hip-hop albums of the year, putting him alongside the likes of Danny Brown, Chance The Rapper, and of course the king of all that's G.O.O.D, Mr Kanye West. Now as I'm a proud skeptic, it was difficult for me to accept that it was possible for every track on an entire album to reach the impressively heightened bar that Aubrey Graham (worst rapper name ever?) had set for himself with his most recent releases/features; the melodic harmonies on "Hold On, We're Going Home" and the seemingly effortless flow on "Started From The Bottom" really made me think about the yet-to-be-released album in a depressingly pessimistic light. However, after listening to Nothing Was The Same from start to finish multiple times, I will accept that I was so very wrong.

"How much time is this nigga spendin' on the intro? Lately I've been feelin' like Guy Pearce in Memento."

Drake has always utilised his intro tracks to the fullest by starting off the album as he means to go on - "Houstatlantavegas" on the So Far Gone EP, "Fireworks" on Thank Me Later and "Over My Dead Body" on his most recent release - and "Tuscan Leather" is no exception. It's a vehement track in which Drake continues to dismiss his opponents and boast about his rags-to-riches life story, but it's done in such an elegant way that makes you almost feel like he isn't bragging; he's simply bemoaning the obnoxiousness of his rap peers. The three verses are complimented by three different chops of the same Whitney Houston track, "I Have Nothing" (1992), and although this may sound like a strange pairing, the two artists blend together to create one of the purest hip-hop tracks of the year (so far). "How much time is this nigga spendin' on the intro?"- as long as he goddamn pleases.

"Next time we fuck, I don't want to fuck, I want to make love."

Although it's fair to say that Drake has found his tougher side on Nothing Was The Same in comparison to his most notable previous release, Take Care, there are still a few tracks on the album that take you back to his 'drunkenly texting ex-girlfriends and crying about it on the phone' days. Now although I always appreciate that he likes to throw in a softer track every so often to show off his multitude of skills, Drake's lyrical depth doesn't really take you much further than it ever has done on tracks such as "Marvin's Room", and this sometimes leaves you feeling like he doesn't particularly like to venture into the deep end when it comes to writing about his personal experiences. For this reason, I was relatively disappointed me after hearing the two most intimate tracks, "Own It" and "From Time", although considering the direction that Drake's been moving in over the past few years I think that these blips in lyrical greatness will definitely smoothen out. In a nutshell, either sort out your love life or man the fuck up, Aubrey.

"Look, just understand that I'm on a roll like Cottonelle."

All in all, Nothing Was The Same is Drake's greatest long player as of yet, and it will certainly be a contender on the renowned //APEX AOTY list.

Review: LAMPGOD & **Ł_RD//$M$

LAMPGOD & **Ł_RD//$M$ **$$EXT8PE?? (Bootleg Tapes, 2013)

It's safe to say that **$$EXT8PE?? is fairly dirrty. Not like you needed me to tell you that - the fact that it's being released alongside a strange promotional porno-video-collage and features song titles such as "**A$$IANMA$$TERBATION??" is telling enough. But **$$EXT8PE?? isn't just conceptually nasty, for it sounds grimy as hell too, encapsulating the grotty mixtape stylings that one may find on a Memphis rap tape.

At its core, **$$EXT8PE?? is a messy sound collage, comprised of stock music, soul and YouTube rips, all presented underneath a veil of hiss and static. It's an interesting approach even without the porn aesthetic, but the successful marriage of thematics and music takes **$$EXT8PE?? above and beyond other internet mixtapes and into its very own tightly-knit world of trash. The overriding motif of this album, just in case you haven't already figured it out, is pornography, and although this is mainly conveyed through the track titles, certain loops strongly allude to illicit love. Tracks like "**P.O.V.(2011)??", "**BLACKONBLACK??" and "**BU$$TEDCHEATING??" feature crushed soul samples with lyrics that definitely imply love-making, and on "**BABY$$ITTERGET$$CaUGHT??" a Bobby Womack snippet is screwed into a sexy, perverted jam. There's nothing particularly unique or new about the methods of sampling here, but these choice cuts are so intriguing and unpredictable that the album feels rather singular in its nature, and quite unlike any other sound collage project that 2013 has brought us (Ahnnu, Andrew Pekler, etc.).

In a year rife with small-time internet producers re-appropriating the past, LAMPGOD and **Ł_RD//$M$ have worked wonders with **$$EXT8PE??. It's an exciting, invigorating album, and it serves as even more proof that sample-based music can create enticing experiences with their palette of plundered sounds.

Reviews: Hair Police and Dean Blunt

Hair Police Mercurial Rites (Type, 2013)

Noise is chaos, and some of the best known provocateurs of the genre are keen to remind us of this - see the agitating Pulse Demon or the sickening Human Animal. However, what happens when noise is less chaotic and dissonant, and more nuanced?

"Ready to lose... the final grip."

Noise veterans Hair Police have dropped the harsher elements of their sound for Mercurial Rites, their first proper album in 5 years, and have instead explored the more ambient, atmospheric realm of noise. The result is a different kind of terrifying from the mangled, unforgiving Certainty of Swarms; this release meanders like a horror movie soundtrack, and any moments of (relative) peace are smothered with twisted sounds sourced from god-knows-where.

"I like this colour... I want you to know that."

Mercurial Rites is anything but mercurial, a slow-moving, dense piece of noise music that's more likely to threaten your sanity than your speakers. The best testament to the horror of this record is that the somewhat ordinary musical elements are still fucking scary in the context of the rest of the album - that vocalist Mike Connelly's flat, monotonous spoken word of "Scythed Wide" is just as ominous as his Whitehouse-meets-Malefic-from-inside-a-coffin shriek on "We Prepare" should tell you that Mercurial Rites is as unsettling as they come. Which is a very good thing, of course.




Dean Blunt Stone Island (Self-released, 2013)

The ever-stupefying Dean Blunt has followed up his brilliant The Redeemer with an album out of nowhere, titled Stone Island, probably in a reference to the brand of clothing (Dean has a thing for fashion, doesn't he?). Quite what it has to do with proceedings, I have no idea, but then who ever does with Dean Blunt? It seems that every single artistic move he makes is but another piece in a never-ending puzzle; over the past few weeks, we've seen the apparent dissolution of Hype Williams, a rare interview in Moscow, and now Stone Island, released in conjunction with the Russian webzine Афиша.

While Dean continues to make us scratch our heads, he also manages to win our hearts with some fantastic music, and this is no different. Stone Island is yet another awesome set, and although it's a continuation of the themes explored on The Redeemer, these tracks aren't - or at least don't feel like - mere castaways from his magnificent release earlier this year. Yes, Mr Blunt borrows from himself a fair bit; I can hear strings from "The Pedigree" and "Flaxen" reused here, but they are re-worked into the record in such a way that its difficult to deny their pulling power. The previously released "Heat", an affecting guitar track featuring vocals from Joanne Robertson, may seem at odds with the MIDI strings and samples on first listen, but it proves to be a touching highlight of the album - a simple, elegiac beauty in an album filled with musical peaks.

Stone Island is another great album from a great artist, but perhaps the best thing about it is that Dean Blunt is giving it away for absolutely nothing. Because, y'know, the music business works like that here in 2013.

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Review: Forest Swords

Forest Swords Engravings (Tri Angle Records, 2013)

Following the release of the critically acclaimed Dagger Paths EP in 2010, Matthew Barnes, A.K.A Forest Swords, seemingly ceased to continue producing new material; the reason for the hiatus being that he had been trying to overcome some serious hearing difficulties. However, 3 years later, he has returned with an absolute gem. Overdue admittedly, but after hearing the official album leak, it is simple to conclude that the wait was an undoubtedly worthwhile one.

It's difficult to explain the path that Forest Swords has gone down with his latest LP, but to put it simply, it's an electronic album of pastoral persuasion that gives off a veritable naturalistic vibe. It takes you through a musical spectrum of everything from the neo-psychedelic achy groans of the lead guitar, right through to the chillwave-influenced field recordings on tracks such as "Thor's Stone". Now that wasn't too hard was it...

Engravings is an album that welcomes you to sink deeper into its shadowy realms, and will almost certainly be on my Best Albums of 2013 list.

Forest Swords - Engravings stream (Pitchfork Media)

Reviews: D/P/I and 18+

D/P/I Espresso Digital (Chance Images, 2013)

Deep Tapes' head-honcho Alex Gray has had quite a prolific solo career of late, flinging out numerous releases under various guises - Heat Wave, DJ/PURPLE/IMAGE, Purple/Image, and now D/P/I (he has also recently released an album for Preservation under the Deep Magic alias). Somehow, project after project, Gray always manages to impress with his garbled plunderphonics and glitchy, spaced-out beats. It is to his credit, then, that Espresso Digital not only continues this trend, but manages to surpass all of his recent releases in terms of sheer, funked-up quality.

As ever, Gray's sample choices are fairly abstract, but the way in which he pulls it all together is so damn convincing that it all makes perfect sense. Where else could a heartfelt wedding speech sit alongside cries of "SHE CAN YELL, WHAT'S UP?", and jittery ambience cosy up with a spacious drum track? It's strangely intoxicating stuff, but it works, and should you submit to Gray's beguiling lo-fi beat tape charm, you will find plenty to enjoy in Espresso Digital's whacked-out, sloppy, yet coherent tracklist.

18+ MIXTA2E (Self-released, 2012)

Little is known (to me, anyway) about 18+. The mysterious "Boy"/"Sis" duo create music that defies any real classification; it's sort of witch house, with shades of cloud rap in the form of Boy's verses. Actually, a good descriptor of 18+'s sound would be "cloudy"; in the same way that Hype Williams used to cloak themselves beneath a veil of tape hiss, 18+ lurk beneath a shadowy backdrop of lo-fi beats and samples while they spit/sing in a hazy, lazy manner.

Apparently, some of these beats on their second mixtape are sourced from other producers (Holy Other is one name I've seen mentioned), but I couldn't begin to tell you which tracks are original productions and which are lifted from elsewhere, owing to the singular approach the duo take. The grotty, overtly sexual themes found in MIXTA2E's lyrics verge on unpleasant; a fetishisation of the deep web, a porno on a flickering screen in a dark room. The sterility of the music combined with these lyrics give MIXTA2E a dark, almost menacing edge, and it's enthralling to hear. Be sure to keep an eye on 18+; I know I most certainly will.

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Review: JGivens

JGivens El v. Envy (Self-released, 2013)

The fourth release from the extremely talented JGivens comes in the form of El v. Envy. In comparison to previous albums (such as Run) he has clearly realised his own solo talent as he's cut down on the amount of featuring artists, and has seemingly taken on the project with very little outside help. The first track from the album, (a)bridge(d) thoughts, uses a sample of soft woodwind which goes strangely well with a boom bap beat. The lyrics and flow over the track are strong too; it really feels like he knows the world which he's rapping about, unlike the eminent Viper. The beat production on the release is well-executed with quite simple hip-hop beats overlaying funk melodies reminiscent of early Snoop Dogg and Dre collaborations such as Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang.

However, despite the success of El v. Envy, I feel like JGivens has a lot more to offer. Whilst El v. Envy is a good album, it does fall short with 3 or 4 tracks which is a shame, it's possible that in a year or two, JGivens could be a name contending against current experimental hip-hop groups such as Death Grips. Although the 3 or 4 tracks that lower the general standard of the album, it doesn't take away from the raw potential left in the album.

New Track: Big Sean

First things first, there is some bad news. Although Big Sean's second studio album, Hall of Fame, will be dropping in stores on 27th August, this killer track hasn't made the final cut due to 'sample clearance issues'. However, the good news is that Sean revealed to Hot 97 yesterday that the song will be released for free on uknowbigsean.com at some point in the very near future.

GOOD Music (founded by Kanye West in 2004) has always been renown for having a fruitful abundance of  talented producers and up-and-coming Chi-town MCs, and Big Sean has utilised this to his fullest when piecing together his latest eagerly awaited LP - with lead producers such as No ID, Key Wane and Kanye West, it's difficult to see how this project could possibly go wrong. A glimpse of this anticipated production is showcased to us in single releases such as Switch Up (ft. Common) and Beware (ft. Lil Wayne & Jhene Aiko), and thus far has been well critically accepted by publications such as XXL Magazine and Complex Magazine, with the album being on their "Most Anticipated Albums of 2013" lists.

However, despite the fact that "Control (HOF)" is Big Sean's track, I think that I, and the world of Twitter, can safely agree on the highlight being Kendrick Lamar's two minute long verse, where the Compton rapper puts himself on a level next to Jay-Z and Nas, and seemingly calls out Big Sean in his own song by claiming that "I've got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you ni**as. Now if that isn't going hard then French Montana is a child prodigy.

New Track: DJ Rashad

Chi-town footworker DJ Rashad released another impressive EP on Hyperdub last week, by the name of I Don't Give a Fuck. As it stands, this new EP is but another impressive addition to his canon, and it interestingly plays the yin to Rollin's yang; whereas Rollin struck quite an emotional chord with Rashad's choice of samples, I Don't Give a Fuck finds him, well, not giving a fuck, coming across as much lighter in tone. I would advocate that each of these 4 tracks are well worth your £2.50, but the choice cut has to be "Everybody", which manages the remarkable feat of taking a sample from the infamous Best Cry Ever video and turning it into a seriously amazing track, featuring all the hallmarks of Rashad's sound - throbbing bass, skittering drums, sharp synth lines and expertly chopped-up vocals. For my taste, this could be his greatest achievement yet, which speaks volumes for a man whose discography largely consists of peaks. Stream it below via YouTube.

Reviews: SAINT PEPSI, Diamond Terrifier and Inga Copeland

SAINT PEPSI HIT VIBES (KEATS//COLLECTIVE, 2013)

Fuck what ya heard, because vaporwave never actually died. No, it didn't die, but instead spawned a whole new wave of practitioners to pick up the baton left by the likes of New Dreams Ltd. and Mediafired. SAINT PEPSI is among the new generation of vaporwavers, and having released 6 full-lengths prior to HIT VIBES, it goes without saying that he's quite a prolific artist. His earlier work, while vaguely interesting, was never fully realised conceptually or musically, but his latest release sees him righting these wrongs and delivering a very good album in the process.

Part of the issue with releases like EMPIRE BUILDING and STUDIO 54 is that they didn't bang enough. They felt as if SAINT PEPSI was going through the motions. His brand of vaporwave (or broperwave as it has been coined) relies on the manipulation of groovy dancehall cuts, and this is where HIT VIBES delivers; many of these tracks are funky and danceable, with motifs nabbed from the likes of Rose Royce and The Live Band. The synth and bass lines that run throughout HIT VIBES are downright infectious, and the soulful vocal snippets are sure to stick with you long after the album is over. Elsewhere there are slower-moving, chilled-out tracks in perhaps a more familiar fashion to the vaporwave that dominated 2012, and these make for an interesting diversion from the dancehall bangers rather than merely padding out the album. SAINT PEPSI is onto a winning formula here for sure, and if he further hones his sound, a new vapor classic may be released in the not-too-distant future.




Diamond Terrifier The Subtle Body Wears a Shadow (Terrible, 2013)

Sam Hillmer is the saxophonist of the Brooklyn avant-rock outfit Zs, and The Subtle Body Wears a Shadow is his second full-length under the Diamond Terrifier pseudonym, released by Chris Taylor's ever impressive-looking Terrible Records. Last year's Kill the Self That Wants to Kill Yourself is a scattershot, almost piecemeal record, but still a somewhat absorbing experience with a couple of killer tracks thrown in for good measure. This effort, on the other hand, is definitely more cohesive, yet fails to deliver as many memorable moments as its predecessor.

The Subtle Body is meant to be experienced as a whole, a 33-minute composition comprised of four movements. Whereas tracks like "Adamantine" broke the sometimes-unidimensional sound on Kill the Self by experimenting with a variety of genres and loops, this album is mainly comprised of warped saxophone squeals and effects, which leaves a little to be desired. Another distinctive feature of The Subtle Body is the English snippets of the Bodhicaryāvatāra that are recited by a computerised voice at various junctures in the proceedings; the irony of the clear influence of religion on this record is that it fails to move me or provoke thought. Although it does have the occasional moment (see the metallic chugging in "Triple Gem"), The Subtle Body is quite an uninspired listen, especially when stacked up against Hillmer's previous achievements as a member of Zs and on Kill the Self.




Inga Copeland Higher Powers (Self-released, 2013)

Although I would hardly accuse the Hype Williams duo of Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland of going pop, 2013 has seen both of them move away from their tape hiss-infected sound and towards clarity; Dean released his crystal clear The Redeemer to a smattering of acclaim, while Inga showcased some fantastic synth-pop with her Don't Look Back, That's Not Where You're Going EP, released on the duo's World Music imprint. While I am a fan of these excursions, they've kind of left me longing for a return to their well-trodden lo-fi sound - fortunately, Inga Copeland is glad to fulfil my desires, in the form of her new mixtape Higher Powers.

Although it is tantalisingly brief at just 20 minutes in length, these 6 tracks share qualities of Hype Williams' previous work while still sounding fresh, new and exciting. "faith" is an intriguing opener that features piercing tones and barely audible singing amidst the dub-y undergrowth, while tracks such as "light up", "b.m.w." and "obsession 2" wouldn't be out of place on releases like Find Out What Happens When People Stop Being Polite, And Start Gettin' Reel or One Nation. A new version of the previously released "A&E" is also featured here, but the standout cut has to be "a world in danger iii", a minimal but addictive exercise in effective drum programming, organ-like synths and tasteful sampling. Overall, Higher Powers will satisfy anybody who has missed the Hype Williams aesthetic of old, and then some, with a fresh spin on a tried-and-tested modus operandi.

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