Some Other Country

Some Other Country

Swayzak [K7 Records]

24 January, 2008 | 9.52AM

• Section: Music Recommendations
• Written by: Lee Smith

In the latter half of the 1990s, while most of the UK was immersed in hard techno, prog house, trip hop and d & b, Swayzak were quietly pioneering their own brand of pristine, dub-infused electronica, and are rightly revered as pioneers of today’s minimal scene.

However, their last few albums received mixed responses, with excursions into trashy electro-pop and awkward electronic soul alienating certain sectors of their fan base.

One thing they can’t be accused of, though, is churning out the same ideas for infinity, and the duo’s first full-length in nearly three years continues their ongoing investigation of techno’s hybrid potential.

Taking in vocal micro pop (’No sad Goodbyes’, which features the always-welcome vocal talents of Richard Davis), gritty techno (’By The Rub Of Love’) and of course, shimmering minimal dub (’They Return’), the album is only let down by a misguided attempt at industrial New Beat on ‘Silent Luv’, where Les Fauves’ whining vocal ruins an otherwise perfectly acceptable backing track.

Commendably rich in its instrumentation, its ideas and its overall air of quality, ‘Some Other Country’ is evidence of Swayzak’s ever-evolving journey, and a timely lesson for all those minimal lump heads in how to do modern electronics with style.

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