Lincoln Barrett pushes himself further out of his drum’n’bass comfort zone on this sixth High Contrast album, with varying results. Disconcerting glam call-to-arms Shotgun Mouthwash (which puts forward the uncontroversial proposition that the former is “a good substitute” for the latter) doesn’t quite succeed, but on the marvellous, audacious Tobacco Road he effectively invents drum’n’blues. Barrett’s latest shot for the charts, The Beat Don’t Feel the Same, is tepid Chic-ish house, yet the previous single, Questions, is a glorious success. The best songs are smart, bassy takes on EDM, blending muscular rhythms and winning melodies reminiscent of Barrett’s anthemic Adele remixes.
