New releases this week: Drum And Bass

Review: Unstoppable next-gen junglist Nia Archives presents Silence Is Loud, her forthcoming debut album following an introductory onslaught of bangers such as 'Crowded Roomz'.AIn keeping with the contemporary torch-bearer's take on jungle, Archives' sound is cuter and, dare we say, more original than many Terminator-helmeted old-heads would dare allow themselves. Lead single 'Silence Is Loud' demonstrates this as much, with its expository beat drop marking a return to and cogent awareness of, jungle tekno, with its 4x4 undergird topped up by a floaty trip-hop vocal line, its lyrics evoking city reminiscences and staying afloat in troubled times. Promising both banger delivery and sentiment, Silence Is Loud is poised to pave the way for the very next incarnation jungle.

Review: Nia Archives has burst through and made a gigantic impact that now stands her at the forefront of the latest jungle era, and pretty much has done since she first made waves in 2020. Her collagist soundscapes have brought an all new sense of energy and rejuvenation to the genre that has in turn brought in plenty of new fans. While some may label her a revivalist, she emphasises that that aspect of the genre has never really gone away. The 24-year-old's debut album has been much anticipated by fans who have fallen in love with her weightless jungle tracks and intense basslines and they aren't let down here as those sounds resonate throughout.

Review: Probably the largest project that could possibly be classified as an EP that we've come across this year, Om Unit's latest record 'Fragments' is an exemplary case of bass music vacillating between two referents that newcomers might mistakenly oppose: "atmospheric" and "banger". Once again released as part of his new spate of ongoing "off-label releases, which began with his titles 'Submerged' and 'Atlantis', this is a maximized, nebulous, glassy, spectral, constellatory EP verging on ghost-notes of UK hardcore and breakstep (check our fave, 'Moonglade'). Every drum hit is EQ-scooped, polished, glossed and preened to the max, evidencing Om's achievement of a sound that few dance music producers can hack without a burnout-inducing mixing session or ten.

Review: The mysterious Oxvac is only credited with one EP back in 2019 and a few digital releases in the years since, so this new album is a significant body of work that belies his relatively newbie status. It comes on recycled green marbled vinyl and collides IDM, jungle and breakbeat into all new drum &bass frameworks across ten new and original tracks designed for the club. The rhythms come thick and fast, the basslines plunge into the depths of space and the pads are as soulful, jazz and cosmic and you can imagine in what is a serene intergalactic trip.