Lucid Locations

Chronique

Second Storey's second full-length is a complex, highly inventive, and very exciting set of mutant electro and advanced club constructions. The tracks are highly kinetic, with pinprick tones darting across the speakers like tiny particles and beat patterns stretching out into irregular shapes, but coming together with propulsive low-end thumping at just the right moments. Even though the music feels nocturnal and spacy, there's still a brightness and sense of excitement to these energetic tracks. "Manhattan to Moscow" is a fast, racing electro cut that seems to be facing in multiple directions at once, yet it still manages to sound clear-headed and focused. "Ajunlei 8" has a nice crunchy thump to it, and manages to do a lot with a small palette of sounds and effects. "Acute Angles" lives up to its title, but its complicated beat structure goes down smoothly thanks to the ambient synth washes. Best of all is "Barrel Roll," which has a simmering build and a sweeping bass drop, framing some slightly discordant noises into an unconventional but still easily mixable club track.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo