"They're almost like a modern take on a past idea of a future sound..."
Nightmares on Wax - Shape The Future
Label: Warp Records
Release Date: January 26th, 2018
Track Count: 12 (including bonus track)
Run Time: 57 minutes
Overview
It's nice to see a new Nightmares on Wax album surface at the start of 2018. It's been 4 years since we were last treated to a full length album his soulful blend of Trip Hop, Dub and Jazz, with 2014's N.O.W Is The Time and it's a welcome addition to this month's playlist. It's nice to hear some (new) old-school Trip Hop sounds again.
Shape The Future has a really good mix of styles and sounds. From Soul, to dub/reggae, to swing/jazz, Hip Hop/Trip Hop. There are some really good cinematic moments and a really nice balance between "organic" and electronic beats. There are some proper chilled out moments, an I love the vintage, analogue sound throughout most of the album. The collaborations peppering it are fantastic, some great choices that really compliment the album and N.O.W's sound.
However, I did get the sense that most of the tracks rely too heavily on core loops and repetition and don't have enough variation; which I know is a feature of this style of music, but it's also a pet-peave for me. It works really well and is used to great effect on some tracks (as you'll see later), but falls flat on others, making you zone out a bit and lose interest, which is a shame I think.
Today's Gems
Follow this month's playlist here
- Shape The Future
- On It Maestro
- Typical (Jordan Rakei)
- Citizen Kane (Mozez)
1. Shape The Future
- It's the title track, so obviously we're hoping for something special.
- Really nice cinematic intro with the piano and strings.
- I like the swing style drum sample mixed with the "4 to the floor" beat.
- Really nice bass tones.
- I like the Spooky synth (theramin? ...maybe?) sounds and interesting synth hooks. They're almost like a modern take on a past idea of a future sound.
- Interesting pan and FX automation.
- Repetition is used really effectively here. I like how there's little real variation, but variety and interest is achieved by adding new elements in each new section. I feel like this is the aim in most of the other tracks, but it was really well pulled off here.
2. On It Maestro
- Cool side-chaining/dipping effects.
- Love the high register piano tones.
- The syncopation in the beat is really cool.
- Really interesting harmonic movement.
- The seemingly random synthy moments are really nice.
- Jazz influence is really laid back and fits perfectly.
3. Typical (Jordan Rakei)
- Really nice bluesy/soul vibe.
- Beautiful Harmonies.
- Such a cool vintage analogue sound, really into this.
- String section makes it feel like proper vintage 60s/70s soul.
- Another really nice piano line.
- Nice sax line low in the mix, wish there was more of this. Would've loved some more throaty Baritone Sax as a proper feature.
- The guitar loop is really cool.
4. Citizen Kane (Mozez)
- Smoooooooth!
- Love the stops and the way the beat seems to skip.
- The bass is super smooth but manages to also seem gritty.
- Nice use of strings again.
- I'd put this on par with Anderson .Paak (I LOVE Anderson .Paak!)
- Proper bluesy harmonies. Really cool.
- I chose this instead of the "Rap Version" (Bonus Track) because I don't feel like it added anything particularly earth shattering to the original. What it did add felt unneccessary and detracted from what was already a really well crafted track.
Conclusion
This is a solid album with some really smooth, tasty moments. But I think it relies too much on repetition, and there were a couple of tracks that I felt weren't really going anywhere and probably would've worked better as a short interlude, rather than a 4 minute track. It just made them feel too much like filler and not something that was serving any real purpose to the rest of the album.
Would I recommend it? I don't think I've listened to an album I wouldn't recommend yet, so far this year. So yes, I would, but I don't think this is going to be the best album I listen to this year. Having said that, I do I think it's good and I'll definitely be giving it another go, particularly the gems that I'll be putting in the playlist on Spotify.
What do you think? Are you a Nightmares on Wax fan? Have you given this album a listen? Do you have any recommendations of what I should be listening to? Let me know in the comments below.
Last month's playlist can be found here