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May 08, 2018 Web Exclusive By Michael Watkins

To create an album, without lyrics, that is worth listening to in a world that is so fast-paced and is informed so much by what has gone before that we liked, can be a daunting prospect. In the last few years, producers have fallen succinctly into two camps as they either deliver masterpieces—Oneohtrix Point Never, Todd Terje, Aphex Twin—or fall completely flat on their face-Bing & Ruth, The Orb. All of those artists have released at least one, if not more projects, since the last full-length release we heard from Daniel Avery, 2013’s Drone Logic. Drone Logic was a fervent, blitzed mix of decisive and impactful compositions, tailor-made for any dance floor of the underground clubs in London, where Avery made his name.

His sophomore project, Song For Alpha, is innately different. Swapping out the no-nonsense, all-or-nothing tracks from that first release for mellower, subtler compositions. This makes for an overall more balanced and well-developed album and this change of pace doesn’t seem to have prevented Avery from reaching some of the dizzying heights that he had shown to be capable of first time around. Tracks like “Stereo L” and “Sensation” are perfect examples of the groovy, flexible beats that Avery is capable of producing, without losing any of his alternative edge. It is almost certainly going to be the case that Avery will never be at the center of the mainstream, so he may as well enjoy and challenge the audience that he has created for himself on the outskirts of music populism.

Whilst the consistency that was the only downfall of his debut album has been redeemed here, the ability to self-edit appears to be something that he could do with working on. At 14 songs in total, Song For Alpha could do with having a good quarter of these chopped off that would allow for a more succinct and less obscure release. It certainly is, if you want to get the most out of it, an album that requires your attention which, as mentioned previously, is commendable enough in this day and age. The only issue with this as an idea is that you run the risk of losing your audience, something that Song For Alpha threatens to do on more than one occasion.

Overall, it is fair enough to say that this is a more mature, more grown-up Daniel Avery than we saw in 2013—the intervening years doing wonders for his own, unique sound. It may be a few songs too long and it may require more brain power than your average album, but, if you are willing to put the time in, Song For Alpha rewards you with some of the nicest experimental workings of the year so far. (www.danielavery.co.uk)

Author rating: 7/10