oOoOO - Without Your Love

Label: Nihjgt Feelings

Having braved the storm of witch house with his integrity intact, Christopher Greenspan faced a difficult proposition producing his debut album. To date, Greenspan’s productions as oOoOO have showed a producer with a knack for drenching the tropes of pop and RnB in syrupy layers of synthy mist, smothering vocals in autotune and offsetting ghostly ambience with Southern hip hop-referencing percussion. While it may sound like a recipe for disaster, oOoOO’s two EPs to date – the self-titled oOoOO and last year’s Our Loving Is Hurting Us on Tri Angle – were incredibly impressive, showcasing an artist with a unique voice whose skill as a producer helped him step clear from the hype machine’s messy fallout with ease.

But now, for his debut album, could Greenspan take that sound further and expand his horizons? Not quite. Without Your Love is a tasteful record drenched in authentic atmosphere, but ultimately Greenspan’s insistence on sticking to the tried and tested oOoOO formula prevents him from surpassing any of the material on his formative EPs. It’s a good album, sometimes great, but one can’t help but find the whole affair somewhat superfluous.

Album Clips

Musically, Greenspan profits from the space of a full-length LP, and there’s little redundant material to speak of. The opening salvo of Sirens//Stay Here is particularly impressive, a nine-minute slice of ghostly ambience that veers from seething gothic grandeur to blissed out ketamine-pop by way of Laura Branigan’s Self Control. It’s the poppier moments of this song’s latter half, reprised on 3;51 AM and Without Your Love, which prove the album’s most immediately gratifying – oOoOO’s gift for combining molasses-thick melodies, hollow snare hits and sugar-sweet vocals remains unrivalled. These sounds offer an inverted view of pop tropes and structure, both pitch-black and unassailably catchy, which culminates in LP highlight Mouchette, as sawtoothed basslines and twilight atmospherics defamiliarise the female vocal, turning it into a final gasp out into the darkness.

Mouchette

For every track that threatens our construction of the pop mainstream there’s an offering that takes things a little differently, and the quality of these numbers is a little more patchy. The superb Misunderstood summons echoes of Burial in its rainstreaked ambience, as subtle vocal and melodic intrusions build to a searing vocal finale which is over far too soon. Yet some of these experiments aren’t quite as successful. The South is an overblown contortion of deep bass hits, epileptic snares and chopped diva vocals, and it feels cheap and hollow compared to the brooding ambiguity of earlier tracks such as Sedsumting; particularly in regards to the bitcrushed melody that rears its ugly head around the two-minute mark. Similarly the backmasked vocals and tape hiss of Crossed Wires seem misguided, standing out awkwardly in the album’s centre.

Without Your Love contains some great material, and for fans of oOoOO’s particular sound, it’s a worthwhile listen. But after repeated spins, it’s hard to feel that there’s anything here that wasn’t done as well or better on his earlier EPs. No single track here is as spellbinding as Break Yr Heartt or Burnout Eyess, leaving one to wonder if perhaps Greenspan is an accomplished producer who simply doesn’t know quite where to go next.

6.5/10

Holy Other – Held

Label: Tri-Angle

It’s surprising, given how quickly ‘witch house’ was relegated to the past as a micro-genre, just how many of its artists have endured. First Balam Acab, then oOoOO, and now Holy Other; trendsetting label Tri-Angle’s chosen few, have consecutively proven that their music has legs and can endure whatever labels the public chooses to throw at them. With his hotly anticipated debut LP, Held, mysterious Manchester-based producer Holy Other offers a compelling and tasteful successor to his justly lauded debut EP, With U.

Fans of Holy Other’s previous output will be pleased to see that all the staples of his established sound make an appearance here. The young producer has an uncommon skill for fusing broken fragments of RnB, Pop and Bass music into a ghostly concoction that intoxicates by its subtle textures and, deep beneath the chopped vocals and ambient washes, a beating, broken heart. This is not the re-processing of past genres to aim at not-quite dance material a la Burial or his devotees; these tracks are aimed solely at giving the listener a personal experience and response, and they do so magnificently.

U Now

Opener (W)here lays on the textures thick; blustering static gives way to a two-tone vocal cry, treated into a flattened motif that almost loses its humanity over synth bleeps and a deep bass throb. The music on show here is deeply grounded in atmosphere and the emotions associated with the ambiance; introspection, insecurity and sadness weigh heavily upon these misty layers of sound. Elsewhere there is a twinning of sensuality and fear that comes across in the breathy moans and twitching percussion of tracks like Impouring, eliciting some of the album’s more dramatic and memorable moments.

An emotive double-punch in the centre of the album ranks among Held’s greatest moments; with the taut clicks of U Now  accompanying the repeated vocal echoes uneasily, creating a nervous tension that gives way to phasing ambient synthwork. The tune leads naturally into the soft, slow tones of In Difference, where growling swathes of bass cloaks some of the most nakedly plaintive vocals on offer here alongside keening melodic touches that emote powerfully.

In Difference

One downside of the release is that texturally the tracks tread very similar ground; the genetic make-up consisting of bass, slow-mo beats, a deep ambient hum and haunting vocals is never subject to much change, meaning some of the less individual tracks such as Past Tension  are likely to go unnoticed despite some good vocal work, while the crumbling soundscapes of Love Some1 appear less impressive in the context of an album that seems to do the same thing a lot. One could argue that this criticism is tempered by the album’s brief runtime, clocking in at a very short 35 minutes, therefore allowing the listener to really delve into the depths of these tracks. All the same, any listeners hunting for something different in Holy Other’s sound or a real sense of musical variation is likely to go away disappointed.

Held

Yet for those who love this rather unique sound, it will be hard not to accept Held as a perfect successor. Granted, it doesn’t really change the formula, but there is a great deal of promise. The immersive journey of title track Held is the one of the most impressive musical sequences on here; switching from dusky atmospherics and restrained beats to brighter synthwork and a brilliant piano sample towards its close that feels conclusive despite its sadness, offering a powerful emotional punch that brings out the quiet desperation in the vocal cry which takes the form of a simple but potent request; ‘hold me’.

In Held, gone are the sexy undertones of last year’s With U EP, and presented in its place is the emotionally shattered core laid bare through gauzy, pulsing soundscapes and raw, unintelligible vocal pleas. Whether you can make out the words or not, this is moving stuff, introspective and haunting; and these tracks are likely to stay with you in the quiet hours long after the album runs its brief course.

8/10

oOoOO – Our Loving Is Hurting Us EP

Label: Triangle

It’s impossible to write a review of Christopher Greenspan’s newest EP without briefly discussing the meteoric rise and sudden dissipation of the so-called ‘Witch House’ genre in 2010. While a new group of hipster-ish producers chopping and screwing Hip Hop and RnB sounded promising at the beginning, the ‘genre’ was quickly found to be rather insubstantial and disappeared as suddenly as it came. Nevertheless, certain artists found a way to avoid being tied to the sinking ship, as oOoOO did on his first EP, which was twisted pop more than anything else, alongside the likes of Balam Acab who released a stellar aquatic debut album last year on Triangle. Still, it’s taken almost two years for Greenspan to releases just five new tracks, so one can’t help but question whether he’s weathered the storm. The answer has already divided reviewers, but I’m content to say that oOoOO is still doing what he does best, and if you discount muse-o discussions of flash-frying genres and overly critical associations with Witch House, he’s presented the world with another fine EP of Electronic music at its most sensual and ghostly.

Starr

oOoOO’s signature sound that made his name is still firmly in place here, as can be heard on opener TryTry, a glitchy assemblage of syrup-thick textures, sharp percussive clanking and ethereal chopped-up vocals. What has changed is the production quality here, the sounds; particularly the percussion, feel less cheap than they did on the debut EP (which was admittedly one if its charms), but still retain an appealing emptiness, the hollowness of the beats contrasting with rich ambient washes and drawn-out vocal variations. Although the tracks here still exist in a gothy haze, details still emerge and surprise, such as the proggy guitar-line emerging, incongruous and eerie, from the Starr’s spacious and soupy soundfield.

Elsewhere Greenspan expands his sound with the inclusion of a live vocalist, Butterclock, whose sultry vocals mix perfectly with Southern Hip Hop-styled percussion and glittering synth-lines on second cut Springs. The main attraction of Greenspan’s production has always been his great knack for creating atmosphere, and Butterclock’s vocals emphasise this continuing strength, with closer NoWayBack setting her sensuous and creepy vocals against big crunked-out bass stabs and metallic beats.

Break Yr Heartt

As good as the tracks on offer here are, it’s not irrelevant to consider that it has taken Greenspan almost two years to release just under 20 minutes of new material, and although his sound is still unique, it hasn’t dramatically progressed since his first outing. Another issue is that some of the tracks on offer here feel a little too short, like sketches that ultimately feel as if they’re building to be longer and more satisfying than a short 3-minute stretch.

But then we’re given a track like Break Yr Heartt, the penultimate track here and probably the best oOoOO has ever released. Here crystalline drum patterns duel with autotuned and screwed vocals to make some of the strangest RnB around, with the ghostly chipmunked refrain ‘I didn’t mean to break your heart’ echoing out over a cavernous, unstable space with searing strings to stunning effect. When an artist can make a song feel so powerful and unique in less than 3 minutes criticisms begin to fall away, and it’s all too easy to be seduced by the remarkable phantom atmosphere Greenspan ekes out of his machines. Yes, Our Loving Is Hurting Us leaves you wanting more but it’s enough for the time being and proves that here is a producer who will outlast the hype, let’s just hope we don’t have to wait so long for so little next time.

8/10

Dance and Electronic Roundup

Here I've collected the tracks I've been sessioning this week, brand new dance and electro from great albums and singles or from artists who are about to release a new LP. Just thought it might be nice to share some thoughts on what I'm listening to at the moment.

Silo Pass – Bok Bok

A track from the new Southside EP by one half of juggernaut label Night Slugs, Bok Bok. Throughout the EP he showcases weird sounds and full-throttle dance production, but here is where he connects most with the grime flavour that threatens to emerge throughout the EP. Opening with a spare buildup consisting of far-off voices, an enthralling beat and creeping synths, at the one-minute mark the track breaks down magnificently into a filthy grime bass that is dancefloor catnip. Despite the unusually long runtime for a dance track this cut never gets boring, with the bass receding and coming back each time bigger and more intoxicating than ever.

Streetz Tonight - Araabmuzik

Part ambient, part trance, the new album from gangsta-rap producer Araabmuzik was a big surprise to everyone. In this prime cut he incorporates classic 90s euphoria vocals in the form of a sped-up version of those from Kaskade's 4am, clipping the sample and never quite letting it reach its peak before it is battered back down by his snares and beats. The result is a completely hypnotising cross-breed of genres which is a prime example of the old adage that however uncool the genre you're reviving, a masterful control of tension and release can make any track a banger. You're now listening to Araabmuzik.

Unglued – Objekt

Harking back in some ways to older dubstep, the mysterious Objekt's (Berlin-based TJ Hertz) latest single was undoubtedly fantastic, but it was this B-side that kept me coming back for more. The track is stripped to a level of pure aggression, moving through several distinct movements before settling into a propulsive beat with acid and jazz tinges cheekily laced throughout. Added to this, after a minute or so of cut-throat beats and violent 2-step snares is one of the most explosive and messed up drops I've heard this year. Suffice to say there's a reason everyone's getting so excited about Objekt, and I expect this track to continue ripping up dancefloors for the next few months.

Open Your Eyes – XXXY

XXXY's particular brand of future garage has been attracting a lot of attention this year, and his latest release looks set not just to continue the brilliance of cuts like Ordinary Things but also to change things up and better them. Adopting a more jungle aesthetic, the drums on this track are exploding hardcore-style 808 beats that are absolutely ferocious especially after the huge drop, and an emotive element is woven into the mix with the sampled refrain “Let's go somewhere”. It's clear from the off that this Manchester-based producer is moving somewhere special, and with tunes like this I'm more than happy to go with him.

Laurel Halo – Aquifer

This is the opener from Laurel Halo's new EP Hour Logic, and it's a gorgeous techno-trance mindbender. Opening with fizzing liquid synths, the track builds slowly and carefully with subtle vocal snatches before the slow-drive bass kicks in to ground the crazy pace of those synths. Laurel Halo has shown a consistently cerebral output and this track is no different, showcasing her compositional skill beyond her astounding voice. It's busy but always lucid, and the distorted pipe-synth kicking in midway through the second minute lends an epic oriental grandeur to the sound introducing a steady beat. The layers are brief but expertly interlaced, declaring proudly that Arbor is one to watch.

Oh, Why – Balam Acab

The first full track from Alec Koone's album due out late August entitled Wander / Wonder. Balam Acab is one of my very favourite artists around at the moment and this taster shows that he's likely to deliver on his Triangle debut. Opening with his trademark treated vocals which sound otherworldly and unlike anything else, the track showcases a luxuriantly slow build that reveals gorgeous depth on repeated listens. The ethereal vocals are backed by a perfectly pitched loop of lazy synths and record hiss, introducing a bassline of masterful subtlety halfway in. Then the dubby bass kicks in accompanied by a soaring male vocal line, building quietly into a beautiful release of eery synths and straining vocals with instantly recognisable bubbly arpeggios breaking through the noise. Dark and beautiful, this promises great things for his debut LP. Another fantastic track from the upcoming album, Apart, can be found here.

Shell of Light (Shlohmo Remix) – Burial

I've saved my favourite until last, this track has been on daily repeat on my iTunes since I first heard it. Remixing Burial is a daring move, but Shlohmo's take on the gorgeous and all-too-brief end of Shell of Light is pitched perfectly, treating its source material with respect and turning it into something completely different. Opening with the untreated sample, the single vocal line is achingly emotive and only enhanced by the masterly bass and broken beats. Just before the 2-minute mark the track drops off and a sampled falsetto is laced expertly with the sample, creating a ghostly and beautiful song which is utterly hypnotic, demanding repeated listens in its thrilling interplay of lost voices, subtly insistent percussion and entrancing synths. An exciting sign of the quality of Shlohmo's debut album Bad Vibes which drops next month, from which a track can be found here.

Salem – King Night

Salem were one of the most hyped up bands the internet has witnessed in a good while, creating their own sub-genre, witch house (which now others have adopted and nuanced more finely), and gaining reputation for one particular terrible live performance (look it up, it's pretty hilarious). But now the dust has settled, it's worth reviewing whether they actually delivered the goods.

Album opener King Night is without a doubt absolutely spectacular. The song has a completely unique energy, this is the sound that could be played as the universe exploded; it's that epic. On paper it opens with a creepy slo-mo sample of Barney the Dinosaur's theme tune, and then explodes into an almost unrecognisable cover of the hymn O Holy Night, but this description does it no justice. The song constantly assaults the listener with a wall of sound that's something like death-shoegaze, and the track is beautifully nuanced with sporadic percussion and a gorgeous choral line that runs alongside spiralling synths. And every time the track lulls, it's just a false sense of security because there are a good few moments when you wonder how the composition can possibly get more powerful than it already is, but each time it delivers. This is the sound of the end of the world, and it's stunning.

Pretty high praise for an opener, and definitely a sign of a band with a huge amount of talent and finesse. Astonishingly, the rest of the album doesn't even sound like it's trying to achieve these dizzy heights. Almost every other track is somehow a complete mess; I could go on at length about just what is so poor about these tracks, but I'll just cut to the highlights. Some songs are overloaded and overly equalized such as Asia, Hound and Killer. These cuts are so poorly produced that the melody barely emerges from all that ugly noise. On other tracks, Sick, Trapdoor and Tair, these drugged-out electro artists attempt Southern rap, aesthetically unpleasing – that is if you can even hear it, the vocals are totally lost in the mix- and if you're particularly after this sort of sound with some higher calibre rap, Gucci Mane does it better.

There are some vaguely redeeming tracks. Release da Boar is menacing and has a woozy haze that holds the composition together quite nicely, while Redlights is a more subdued and successful take on the formula they keep hammering home with some subtle interplay between vocals, low-end bass and ticking percussion that works well. But nothing even comes close to the joy of King Night.

I understand that all this messiness may be the point, witch house isn't a fixed genre and hazy, overloaded sound may be what they were aiming for, but it doesn't really cut it for me. Given that these are clearly talented musicians their general aesthetic direction seems as backwards and unpredictable as their live performances, and when there are more nuanced and interesting takes on witch house around at the moment (Balam Acab, oOoOO) it just doesn't seem worth the listen. Get the first track because it's a knock-out, but leave the rest.

3/10

Balam Acab – See Birds EP

Balam Acab's music could be called a lot of things. He's generally seen as part of the witch house crowd with acts like oOoOO, Salem and Modern Witch, but this EP really sets him apart. Yes, his music contains the slightly unnerving, sensual vibes that a lot of these projects give out, but with time these tracks give a lot more to the interested listener.

The EP, although only a brief 20 minutes in playtime, definitely lends itself to repeated listens. In fact, it'd probably be an easy one to pass over. His tracks normally kick off with asian-sounding string or electro samples layered with a dubby throb and dusty beats such as the superb and darkly atmospheric opener See Birds (Moon), or the equally excellent second cut Regret Making Mistakes which has a relentless and unforgettable dub pulse running right through the track. He has an excellent sense of timing, building and taking away layers of sound at the perfect moments to compliment his tracks and make them endlessly relistenable. And in every single track, just when you're blissfully chilled and sinking into his dream-like sound, he brings in some ethereal female vocals that sail across the top of his tracks, always perfectly and effortlessly implemented. A perfect example is the penultimate track, Dream Out, which has the sound of a benign, ancient machine straining to awaken from a dream. Or something similarly trippy and appropriate.

However the undeniable highlight of the EP is the central track, Big Boy. The track makes you wait a good minute before you get anything of real substance with a haunting little melody, but as soon as the bubble bursts it's completely enthralling, and you won't want it to end.

The last track See Birds (Sun) is good but doesn't quite hold the high standard of the others, and this coupled with the brevity of the release mean I couldn't quite stretch to saying it's an excellent record. But if you like the vibe, give it some time because this one is pretty much the definition of a grower, and certainly a winner.

9/10

oOoOO - oOoOO EP

Label: Tri Angle

oOoOO is a pretty secretive guy. From his ungooglable name (and song titles; a new cut he debuted at FACT magazine was called 'Сирин') to his unwillingness to reveal much about himself as an artist, we can tell he likes a good bit of mystery. This is completely reflected in his music which more than stands up for itself; this is an EP bursting with an atmosphere equal parts dark, hazy, and sensual.

The thing that really makes this album stand out from the Witch House crowd is its pure substance. This is deeply textured, intricate music and repeated listens really do open it up even further. The most accessible track on the EP is probably Hearts, which betrays an almost disco-like sensibility chopped up and buried under thick gothic dub, and the closest thing to a clear hook you're going to find in the collection. Yet it is these gauzy layers of synths and slightly off-kilter beats that make these tracks so evocative.

Second track Sedsumting throbs into existence with samples and synths that are unsettling but remarkably melodic; there's a clear sexual undertone to his music as the deep bass and echo effects strain against a searing string-like synth that pierces through the thick mesh. Opener Mumbai is also a highlight, with haunting moaning vocals that glide over its faltering beats.

This is deep, dark music that neither relents nor becomes in the slightest bit dull, every track has a new variation on his thick, syrupy sound. At the close of another standout track, Burnout Eyess, his mysterious female vocalist (known only as 'Miss Lisa') intones 'I wanna stay just like this', and perhaps this is where the EP is in a sense lacking. Although his sound is undeniably rich, there isn't enough variation on display here to suggest that he has much room to move within this style. And with the apparent departure of Miss Lisa, I'm left wondering exactly what direction he's going to take from here, because an album of material like this wouldn't quite hold up. However in the context of his genre this isn't particularly shocking, he doesn't quite show the range of subtleties of someone like Balam Acab but nor does he put a foot wrong like Salem's horrific faux-rap tracks. Either way, I will definitely be tuning in to find out what he does come up with in a new release, because this EP shows enough talent to be worth watching.

7.5/10