After an aimless orchestrated introductory track (I would have skipped, but Louis Cole has earned the right to dick me around for 2:26), this is a superb dance record. I have many reasons to love this: eg the fiendish syncopations (which I’ll be up late trying to learn), the ingenious chord voicings, and the many varied instrumental solos, especially Cole’s unique drum breaks and the warm hug of a sax solo on the closing track. But the bottom line is, I can’t hear this music without trotting round my kitchen like a dressage finalist, or at least nodding my head and grinning inanely at the oncoming traffic. In contrast with the hyper-cultivated jazz-school chops on display, the recording is charmingly slap-dash – there’s no production polish, anything cool you hear was simply performed that way. All the tracks have videos (YouTube is their primary medium, I think), it looks like each track was recorded live with minimal overdubs in an ordinary suburban house, rhythm section on the upstairs landing, winds and/or string section in the kitchen, choir in the driveway etc. The appearance of these elements in various combinations gives just enough illusion of coherence to satisfy me. Genevieve Artadi is a great foil for Cole but I’d need to listen a few more times to really pay attention to the vocals. I did notice her resist the temptation to croon over the old-fashioned string arrangement on Same Smile, Different Face, where her modern vocal attitude made a pleasing contrast. This album is all about contrasts: modern vs traditional, synthetic vs acoustic, spiky vs smooth etc.
Standout tracks: The Abyss, Ride That Dolphin.
9/10, with the caveat that I’m already a fan so came to it with a lot of good will.
Fantastic!