Bleep

A new Actress release is always a cause for excitement. From his first album 'Hazyville' in 2008, through to the enigmatic 'Splazsh' in 2010 and his last full-length offering 'R.I.P.' in 2012, his talent for building otherworldly and mind-bending, forward-facing music that sounds like nothing else has always been clear. His latest release for the Werkdiscs / Ninja collaboration label is no exception. Titled 'Ghettoville', it is a companion piece to 'Hazyville', the sounds on show similarly hallucinatory but a whole lot darker in flavour.

The album opens with the thick and clunking 'Forgiven', sluggish rhythms that sound like metal being forged buried in slow-moving, noisy smoke. 'Corner' also moves with a lethargic groove to it, pushing glitchy minimalism into ever-darker realms. Next track 'Rims', though following in a similar style, is more playful, hazy bleeps twisting into a peculiarly catchy track. The blunted techno of 'Towers' and cracked drums of 'Birdcage' show a decaying take on dance-floor tropes that sounds like no one else, while towards the end of the record moments like 'Gaze' with its glimmering pads, and the soulful vocals of 'Rap' add some light. Ghettoville is the kind of album that could only have been made by Actress, and with this release he proves himself lightyears ahead of most musicians in crafting mood and texture.