City Slang 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Canadian artist Caribou's much-adored album 'Our Love' hears a reissue, harkening back to a time still occupying vaguely recent memory in which festival summers from the mid-to-late 2010s were dominated by Dan Snaith's band-backed productions and innocent croons. Explosive at the time of its release, hits such as 'Can't Do Without U', 'All I Ever Need' and 'Dive' are now veritably etched into the public consciousness, and it all comes down to Snaith's spelt-out use of soul vocal samples and cleverly warm house production.

Review: It's quite shocking it's been six years since the last Caribou album, 2014's knockout "Our Love". Dan Snaith has never felt the need to rush his music out, and there was an interim Daphni album in 2017 to be fair to the guy, but here we are with a new set that sees Snaith returning to a little of the delicate songwriting and winsome electronica he forged his reputation on in the early days. There's a lot going on in here, from smooth as silk yacht rock-isms to deliriously modernist cut ups and more than a few wild pitch shifts to keep listeners on their toes. It's playful and heartfelt, and rarely lingers in one place for too long while still retaining a sense of calm. It may be not at all what you expected from Caribou's return, but we'd wager it's even better than you hoped.

Review: "I made ['The Work'] over the last year at home in my temporary studio which was supposed to be the living room, while um, building my actual studio," Gold Panda said of his latest record, arguably his most introspective and - factually - his first full-length in more than six years. Made at home over the course of around 12 months, the track 'I've Felt Better (Than I Do Now)' has been doing the rounds for a while ahead of this full length and turned many heads in the process.

While that number, and the excellent Daniel Avery remix, is a pretty warm slice of future-bass leaning house with filter (although maybe not quite filter house), the complete package represents a more exploratory and personal sound from the music maker in question, although one that's no less immediate in its engagement of the listener. Simply put, it's very interesting and also very good.

Review: It sort of feels right now that Daniel Avery can do no wrong. He's the dance music indie kid who brings a different perspective to electronic music and always has. Once mentored by Andrew Weatherall and a long-time fav of Erol Alkan, he steps out here in remix mode and flips Gold Panda's 'I've Felt Better' into one of his typically textured, smoky and experimental pieces. On the flipside is the Illian Tape regular and purveyor of all things dark, breaky and techno, Skee Mask, with a fresh take on 'Plastic Future' that makes this a high class 12".