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Jul 10, 2013 Mount Kimbie By Sam Cleeve

As they grew out of the same electronic music scene that birthed the likes of James Blake and Darkstar, the rise to success for Mount Kimbie and their subtle, fragmented electronic dance music was a quick one.

The erratic cut-and-paste of their debut Crooks and Lovers has since been reduced and concentrated into a more refined musical vernacular, one that doesn’t try to give voice to so many different ideas at once. For much of Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, Dominic Maker and Kai Campos have closed the lids on their laptops, turning instead to acoustic drum kits and electric guitars to replace the digital convulsions of their debut effort (finding exception in the relentless tapping gyrations of “Made to Stray”). It’s a sound that’s clearly derived from electronic music, but largely recreated on acoustic instruments, and lately, this seems to be a sound of continually growing repute—comparisons are inevitably drawn with the likes of King Krule (who provides guest vocals on two tracks) and Vondelpark.

Cold Spring Fault Less Youth deftly achieves that balance between familiarity and progress that has become the Holy Grail of sophomore releases. Neither languishing nor veering off tangentially, Mount Kimbie have doubtlessly secured themselves longevity with this album. (www.mountkimbie.com)

Author rating: 7/10