Reviews | PlayGround

Ruff Sqwad -

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 08:59:13 +0100

Grime has turned ten and we are old, a wise man once said. But the music still sounds fresh, as this 21-riddim compilation of the awesome Ruff Sqwad shows: a testament of how Grime once was and still is. This is the real London sound.

Pinch - MIA 2006-2010

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 09:13:21 +0100

“MIA 2006-2010” is easily one of this year’s best dance music compilations, a well thought out package that traces the work of a man who has never shied from saying what he thinks and trying what he wants regardless of scenes’ demands and restrictions.

Roc Marciano - Reloaded

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 09:05:16 +0100

Roc Marciano manages to blow up several rules of underground hip-hop: with hardly any fat beats, designing a dreamy, surreal mood, and achieving a narcotic effect, the New York rapper delivers a spectacular album on which he tells us the secrets of his success.

James Ferraro - Sushi

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:55:58 +0100

James Ferraro’s obsessions - which are 80s commercial music, the triumph of capitalism, consumerism, luxury, all surrounded by an air of criticism - are repeated in “Sushi”, which backs up his more pop discourse with a hip hop and IDM-style production.

The Weeknd - Trilogy

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:53:55 +0100

Universal reissues The Weeknd’s three famed mixtapes, adding only three new songs and Drake’s collaboration on one cut. Nothing else is needed to make one of the future’s most fascinating music collections official.

Brian Eno - Lux

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:14:12 +0100

Brian Eno comes back, 34 years later, to the essence of one of his masterpieces, “Music For Airports”, with this “Lux”, which extends the idea of minimalist, luminous ambient to a total of 80 minutes. The heavenly Eno is back.

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die: The Paradise Edition

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:10:10 +0100

Lana Del Rey’s fans can breathe easy: the expanded version of “Born To Die” isn’t just a trick to get money out of them, but rather a competent extension of her tormented, Lynch-inspired imagination, with eight very well-done new songs.

Crystal Castles - (III)

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:16:39 +0100

After several delays, the Crystal Castles' awaited third album is finally coming out. They don't disappoint, and show they still have great things to say for years to come.

Dirty Projectors - About To Die EP

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:02:08 +0100

Dirty Projectors prolong the life of “Swing Lo Magellan” with five minimalistic and solemn songs, including a tribute to deceased TV On The Radio bassist Gerard Smith.

Ital - Dream On

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 09:01:01 +0100

Taking his musical discourse a step further, in “Dream On” Ital subjects the essences of house techno to a process of deconstruction and mutation in which spontaneity reigns over all else.

Main Attrakionz - Bossalinis & Fooliyones

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 09:00:45 +0100

After a mixtape that caused a buzz in the part of the underground hip hop scene oriented towards indie-pop, Main Attrakionz have finally put out their first official album. It just isn’t the same anymore: their proposal is softened and watered down, lacking force and originality.

Lee Gamble - Diversions 1994-1996

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 09:01:01 +0100

Lee Gamble delivers a fascinating mini LP full of phantasmagoric ambient, built from heavily manipulated intros and interludes from old drum'n'bass anthems from 1994-1996. Top-notch hauntology.

Teen Daze - The Inner Mansions

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:59:03 +0100

Teen Daze takes more than just a step towards something big on his latest release. A beautiful album that holds echoes of his inspirations, yet forges its own path.

Emeralds - Just To Feel Anything

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:57:28 +0100

The three members of Emeralds concentrate their past two years of evolution on their own on an album that summarises the essence of 70s German cosmic music, but with more melodies and rhythmic frenzy. At times coming close to Symmetry's 'music to drive to'.

Lindstrøm - Smalhans

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 09:25:05 +0100

Almost without warning, Lindstrøm is releasing his second full-length this year, and this time with the sound his fans expect from him: cosmic stampedes, galactic disco music, and no sidesteps to funk or organic trip-hop. A different world.

Peter Broderick - These Walls Of Mine

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:12:04 +0100

This is the album no orthodox Peter Broderick fan should listen to: the Oregon artist invents hybrid languages between chamber pop and weird hip-hop and folk. Daring, but far from his most inspired moments.

Halls - Ark

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 09:06:21 +0100

Halls builds his sound from all sources of melancholy: misty ambient, dubstep beats, soul passion, and modern classical music. Located between Thom York, Burial and James Blake, he's one of the great hopes of avant-garde pop.

Pye Corner Audio - Sleep Games

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 09:16:57 +0100

After introducing itself to a wider public with the reissue of two of the project’s first tapes on Type, now Pye Corner Audio projects its first true album, in which its hauntology sound expands towards areas close to techno and cosmic music.

Tracey Thorn - Tinsel and Lights

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 09:10:19 +0100

It’s not just a Christmas album (that would be such a cliché): it’s a collection of covers sung with Thorn’s own warm and close style, ranging from Randy Newman to Bob Dylan, being the perfect Sunday morning album for all the year long.

The Soft Moon - Zeros

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:58:27 +0100

The Soft Moon haven’t innovated a bit on their second album, nor did they need to; they have remained faithful to their same triumphant formula of dry drum-machines, nervous guitars and sharp bass.

U.S. Girls - GEM

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:05:17 +0200

Canadian Meghan Remy gives us an album that may definitively confirm her within pop: a voice with personality, touches of glam and above-average titles come together in “GEM”.

Monoton - Monotonprodukt 07

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 09:09:00 +0200

The definitive release of one of the most influential, and at the same time unknown, electronic records in history is finally here: repetitive sequences and rhythmic monotony, the most primitive origin of minimal techno, now available again on double vinyl.

Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d. city

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:05:21 +0200

Kendrick Lamar’s debut shines: the diary of a good boy who samples the pleasures of the dangerous life in the big city, it is a wonderful treatise of young, modern rap, lyrical and contemplative, supported by today’s best producers.

Lukid - Lonely at the Top

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:03:08 +0200

The music spread across 12 tracks on this fourth Lukid album dips in and out of styles and genres, toying with recognisable tropes and signifiers without ever committing to one for long enough to make you think ‘oh this is [insert genre]’. A nice one.

Andy Stott - Luxury Problems

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:51:39 +0200

Andy Stott delivers his first album after his 2011 slowed-down techno diptych, and manages to close a trilogy in which he found new ways of expression for experimental dance music. This time with piano and voice, looking for an exit towards the light.