Despite being Mercury nominated, Bazza’s hardly a household name. Nevertheless, his debut album When Will We Land was highly praised by those in the know. I am definitely not in the know and am more or less a stranger to electro stuff – it can often leave me cold (Guetta can get off, quite frankly). But I know a good tune when I hear it.
His career has been short and rather stratospheric and he’s the first to admit his head’s reeling. He played his first live show at Glastonbury two years ago, then sold out three nights at Brixton Academy and will be headlining at All Points East in August. Plus there have been sell-out gigs in LA. “If my first album was a collage of all the music I loved and was inspired by growing up, then this album is the most authentic expression I could offer of myself and my life over the past year,” wrote 33-year-old Josh Mainnie (for that is his real name) on Instagram.
We begin with a menacing track – “The Person You’d Like to Be” – acknowledging the truism that “there is nothing permanent but change” and drawing a line in the sand (with a sinister giggle and some unsettling words in his rich brogue). From there on in things are decidedly more upbeat and it becomes obvious that this is very much a summer album. “Different” is a meaty club track with a driving rhythm and (literally) driving sound effects. It has perfect pace and flow to build tension until the pay off. “Kimpton” (a collaboration with producer O’Flynn) is one of those dance tracks you feel like you’ve heard before – a classic rather than something derivative. Similarly, the single “All My Friends” sounds familiar in a good way. There’s something of the tone of early Moby in there. “About to Begin” ramps up the pace again with a dirty, juicy synth riff and you can tell that these new tunes have been written with bigger venues in mind. This would kick off in a stadium.
The beautifully titled “Cars Pass By Like Childhood Sweethearts” is another that sounds like it will be blasted from windows of all kinds whenever the sun shines. “Machine Notes For A Quiet Daydream” includes a great dollop of bizarre observations from Seamus not dissimilar from Ewan McGregor’s Trainspotting “choose life” soliloquy all those years ago. The album continues in this quality vein, depositing earworms as it goes. For those who love the genre, it’s a no-brainer. For others (like me) on the peripheries, it’s a very enjoyable ride.
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