3.5/5The critically-acclaimed former trip-hop group finally released their third album after taking a 10-year break. The album is littered with unsettling, melancholic background music while Beth Gibbon's beautiful voice transcends it all. "The Rip" starts off with acoustic arpeggios, when suddenly, but yet subtly, the drums come in halfway through the track. "We Carry On" has a grinding and strangely catchy groove. "Deep Water" would be better named "Fresh Water"; it comes as a pleasant and fulfilling minute and a half of pure beauty amid the disquieting genius of the rest of the album. The lead single "Machine Gun" combines industrial beats with Gibbon's aching voice to create an intriguing song, only to be bolstered even more by a Chariots of Fire-like synth-brass section at the end. "Magic Doors" has what I would almost call a funky drum beat with some Indian-influenced backing music. The album is very well-constructed and has the ability to grow on you, as I'm sure it will even further on me.
No comments:
Post a Comment