• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Jul 20, 2020 Web Exclusive By Dom Gourlay

Edinburgh trio Check Masses might have only recently formed but their collective history stretches back years through the city’s musical landscape. A supergroup of sorts; the threesome—singer Philly Angelo Collins, multi-instrumentalist Vic Galloway, and technical wizard Saleem Andrew McGroarty—cut their teeth playing in various bands dabbling in possibly every genre known to man. So, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that their debut long player Nightlife serves as a lesson in musical cross pollination.

Not content with finding a template and then sticking to it, Check Masses delve into their collective psyches to conjure up an album that’s full of twists and turns. A Tales of the Unexpected (if you like) for the post-millennial generation. Only set in Scotland’s cultural hotbed and focused on what happens after dark, as one would expect from a record entitled Nightlife.

While Collins’ distinctive, soulful vocal provides a touch-point throughout, it’s McGroarty’s lavish production that rises to the fore here. Supplemented by Galloway’s diverse range of instrumentation that encompasses everything from traditional guitar and keyboards to the exotic sounds of a melodica that creates an ambience on “Lost in the City” to rival Sandinista! period Clash.

Nevertheless, McGroarty’s love of hip-hop—he was responsible for launching Edinburgh’s legendary club night The Big Payback in the 1990s—underpins everything that’s great about this record. Samples are deftly arranged to create a cinematic atmosphere, and on the likes of “Killers” and “The Sound You Make” the trio are at their most compelling.

The biggest compliment that can be afforded Check Masses is their ability to sound like no one else, and while comparisons with the likes of Massive Attack and Big Audio Dynamite aren’t unreasonable, they’re a decidedly unique entity which makes Nightlife all the more desirable. (www.checkmasses.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10