At times on this fourth album from the Manchester trio you want to ask: “What’s the rush?” A pell-mell, pedal-to-the-floor approach is, of course, one of the group’s signatures. They may owe a debt to the repetitive minimalism of composers like Philip Glass, but they grew up in the era of techno and drum and bass, and have cannily adapted the rush of electronic music to a traditional acoustic lineup of piano, double bass and drums.
Now in their mid-30s, they are on crisp, confident form here, having taken time to refine their approach: every thrum and drone of Nick Blacka’s bass on a track like Atomised is chosen precisely, every swirl of Chris Illingworth’s remarkable piano is more considered than the often breakneck pace suggests. Nonetheless, the dynamic of the tracks is too often similar – go fast, slow down, go even faster – and the record often shines brightest at its least hurried. The three minutes of Embers offers a reflective lyricism, as does the closing Don’t Go, where Blacka’s bass is forefront.
In live performance the uptempo pieces will have their audiences rocking, but a more diverse and, dare one suggest, conventional approach may lie ahead.
