Spectrasoul – Delay No More LP preview

July 6, 2012

Brighton-based Spectrasoul have earned a reptation for releasing consistently high-quality drum n bass tunes. Over the years the releases have gotten better and better and the duo are now seen as one of the finest production outfits in the business.

Releasing 12″s is one thing though, making an album is quite another. Could they bring the same consistent quality to the long-player format? It’s not easy.

They could.

A personal labour of love for Spectrasoul’s Jack Stevens and Dave Kennett, Delay No More is 13 tracks of excellently crafted electronic music, spanning drum n bass, downtempo, house and everything in between. It’s a coherent and balanced snapshot of the pair’s musical tastes and unlike some albums which span so many genres, it’s completely listenable.

It’s the subtle details which we like; the growling bass on No Doubt, Ish Chat‘s intricate percussion, The Curb‘s delicate vocals and twinkling piano. This pair have developed such a mature sound and this album shows how accomplished they’ve become.

Delay No More sounds like it contains some hits, too. Light In The Dark which features the vocals of Mercury Music Prize nominated Terri Walker is one:

Away With Me with new vocal talent Tamara Blessa is another, and it comes with this weird video that Spectrasoul directed themselves:

Drum n bass in its many different guises features heavily across the record, showcasing the breadth of Spectrasoul’s skills in the genre they made their name in.

Sometimes We Lie is a straight-up melodic drum n bass roller, but the delicately intertwined vocals and piano make it something really quite special, reminiscent of drum n bass don and SGTMT favourite Calibre. (Compliments don’t come much bigger than that from us):

Fools Paradise is an Autonomic-style bass track. Buggin’ a stripped-back drum workout with just a hint of instrumentation. Memento is different again; a trip through 90′s drum n bass vibes. They can do everything well it seems, and all on one record.

They dip into hip-hop with S.O.U.R. and then end the record with Shoestring, a shuffling deep house tune recalling Jazzanova. The use of so many genres doesn’t sound contrived when they’re all delivered to such a high standard. It’s very impressive.

The pair said this about their efforts: “Delay No More is an outpouring of our thoughts, ideas and personalities that have been collected, curated, and bound; We want the listeners to immerse themselves in it and decide what it means to them, and take from it what they will.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy it.”

Well, we did. Delay no More is a debut album to be proud of. Accomplished and complete. Definitely worth the wait and your money.

Delay No More is due on Shogun Audio on 23rd July. Pre-order yours from the label here or on iTunes here.

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Tags: Drum n bass, Spectrasoul