SBTRKT

Wonder Where We Land

(Young Turks)

13/20

When we saw SBTRKT in Europe earlier this summer, his stage show included a giant inflatable creature; a monkey or something. It wasn’t lit, it didn’t move and the man himself never really acknowledged its presence. The creature in question is now the cover star of his new LP. The creature just sits. The creature looks nice and that, but the creature just sits. The creature is the perfect mascot for Wonder Where We Land; an inoffensive vision of colour that can divert your attention for three quarters of an hour.

Ezra Koenig’s brisk oration on NEW DORP, NEW YORK, the breathless flow of newcomer Ruary on Higher and the delicate vocal of Caroline Polachek on Look Away all work well against SBTRKT’s flickery production. These tracks sound novel – the vocalists bounce and climb along backing tracks that have been crafter with them in mind. These new voices act as revivers for SBTRTKT’s blueprint. When Sampha’s hollow bleating spreads itself across the beat, the infrastructure sounds a little more drained and these moments of overfamiliarity belittle the more enterprising moments.

You won’t be left wondering whether SBTRKT’s success is some kind of glitch in the mainstream dance matrix. These are good songs, a few of them – NEW DORP  especially – are great songs. But the flashes of inspiration aren’t quite as frequent as they could be.

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Words: Duncan Harrison