Losing The Thread with Justice, AG Cook, & Actress
In celebration of Charli XCX's brat I decided to do a week dedicated to dance music here on the blog. Since brat didn't turn out to be the nonstop dance record I was anticipating, it's somewhat fitting that this week has blown so far off course. Earlier we discussed Iglooghost and Kaytranada and now were going to cover an actual dance music outfit's new dance album, a dance music producer's new ambient techno effort, and frequent Charli XCX collaborator AG Cook's completely undanceable new album. Enjoy <3
Hyperdrama - Justice
Justice is one of the definitive dance acts of the 2000s whose debut album made a crater-sized impression on the genre's history. Since then the pair have shared two follow-up records neither of which I was particularly head-over-heels for. In fact, it's Gaspard Auge's 2021 solo album Escapades that stands as my favorite thing to spawn from the duo since their debut. So it's out of respect for the duo and acknowledgement of their potential that I went into the 4th Justice album with high hopes. Surprisingly though. I didn't find myself having much to say about the record at all when I first heard it.
The album's singles hit a strange note starting with the Tame Impala collaboration One Night/All Night which I felt was a little underwhelming even before I heard the other, far better Tame Impala crossover Neverender that kicks the record off. Speaking of which the very next song on the album Generator was the deeply underloved B-side to the lead single and I think it's one of the best and most intense tracks the duo has released in years. The other singles are Incognito, an almost shockingly innocuous and monotonous dance cut, and Saturnine a decent but slightly mismatched collaboration with Miguel.
But at the very least, I have compelling thoughts on the singles. What I found disappointing about the album was broadly how little interest it actually inspired in me at all. There just aren't very many moments that escape a slop of brightly colored dance music that lacks texture and whose biggest and best moments feel imminently predictable. Interestingly enough some of the most notable moments are tracks like Midnight Rendez-vous and Explorer that sounds the least like Justice. Ultimately this record was a bit of a disappointment to me, but only because I let myself have expectations in the first place. This record has similar issues to the last two Justice projects as the duo continue to stumble when they look for new ways to feel distinct. 5.5/10
Britpop - A.G. Cook
At the end of last year, frequent Charli XCX collaborator A.G. Cook announced that his highly influential label PC Music would be transitioning into an archival-only project after a decade of releasing material. He transitioned to a new label project called New Alias, which is launching with this massive, well massive by most artists' standards anyway, 24-track 100-minute album. The album is split into 3 disks meant to represent Cook's past, present, and future creating strong stylistic differences between the different sections of the album. Despite how much material I've enjoyed over the years that AG Cook has had his hand in, I wasn't crazy about his true debut album Apple and the massive 7G project was a mixed bag, albeit one with highlights. So to say I was skeptical of the massive tracklist presented on Britpop would be an understatement.
The first disc is about Cook's past, which is present right away on the album's 10-minute lead single Silver Thread Golden Needle which features plenty of PC Music hallmarks and I think it's pretty solid. It's followed by the title track, which despite making a rough first impression I'm slightly more into now. Elsewhere on the disc are highlights like the shimmering jittery Prismatic and the Two Shell-sounding 6-minute disc closer Luddite Factory Operator. I think this first disc is solid with a playful demeanor and dynamic instrumental palette that I enjoyed more and more each time I heard it.
The second disc of the album is dedicated to Cook's present, though it's hard to say exactly what present that refers to. The gentle, dreamy guitar-led sound of the songs here is pretty reminiscent of part of a recent live set I recently saw him do, though this is the first time I've heard it come through in his actual material. The disc has a very distinct feel to nearly every song, which isn't necessarily a bad thing though it compounds with the fact that I don't find AG Cook to be specifically compelling as a lyricist. Some of its most notable points come in the middle on songs like Green Man and Crone when the album tries on new and slightly harsher sounds for size. I can't say I love this disc and I find the first half much more satisfying than the second half, I'm just not sure this style of sonic presentation suits A.G. Cook the best.
Finally we get into the third disc, the future. A lot of the discussion of this album seemed to revolve around this section, alongside its imposing length. And that's because it's certainly the most attention-grabbing music presented here, whether that's good or bad is exactly what people are debating. Soulbreaker predicted the divulgence as its piercing shimmery synths are confrontational enough to leave people divided. Frankly this disc is where the album loses me even if I wasn't as harsh on Soulbreaker as some. As the demeanor of the music gets increasingly silly from Emerald leading into Butterfly Craft and peaking on Equine however, it really starts to actively bother me while listening. Ultimately, there isn't really much of anything I love about this entire disc, though Pink Mask admittedly comes the closest.
Despite his decade of contributing to music I absolutely adore, I can't say I get a whole ton out of this A.G. Cook record. It has its moments, but they're almost all early on the record and the longer it goes on the more I start to shift into straight up annoyed. Amazingly the strage, disjointed 7G remains the best testament we have to Cook's talents as a solo artist to date. 5/10
Statik - Actress
If you were offended by the fact that I called Actress a "dance" producer at the start of this page, I get it. That's a tight lens through which to display an electronic music producer who has worked his way through a variety of styles, some surprisingly experimental in tone. It's also not representative of this record, one that's minimalist and ambient in tone. This means the record is much more focused on its space and texture than beats or rhythms. That's on display prominently on the opening track Hell which gets the record started with a minimal and fittingly static haze, only to transition into sharper and more present interpolations of gritty textured noise.
That's true of a number of songs on the record but it also has its more dance-flavored moments. The first half of Rainless features a snappy drum loop only to unravel it all and rebuild it through a compelling array of sounds. That dynamic synth work and versatile composing is placed on a number of highlights in the middle of the album including Ray and its second of three six-minute cuts Cafe del Mars. What holds the record back from maintaining that consistency are surprisingly stagnant tracks.The worst of the bunch is Dolphin Spray whose core refrain doesn't really do much for me in the first place but hearing it drag on across the span of more than 4 minutes doesn't help.
Though I think some of the last few tracks on Statik fail to completely bring the record home I do enjoy it. The album lives up to its name with compelling swirling static motifs spread throughout its mixes and entire tracklist. It isn't just a diatribe for Actress, but an experiment he's willing to engage with fully and directly. What results isn't exactly revolutionary, but it is mostly compelling. 6.5/10
