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Dec 12, 2013 Issue #48 - November/December 2013 - HAIM By Chris Saunders

Swede Axel Willner, aka The Field, is a man who can create a mood. From the euphoric minimal techno of 2007 album From Here We Go Sublime to his earlier work sampling Lionel Richie and The Four Tops, he has gained a reputation for multi-layered, building dance music that borders on the hypnotic.

Cupid’s Head is pretty much The Field by numbers: six long tracks of looping and ambient music that’s either brilliant or formulaic.

Things start off on familiar territory. “They Won’t See Me,” the first nine minutes of Cupid’s Head, is the best track—it throbs and pulses with a spaced-out vibe, and has the blissed-out sound that fans of From Here… will recognize.

The jury will be still be out on whether the darker stuff works. “No. No…” has an Aphex Twin edge to it, but doesn’t really go anywhere, and while “Black Sea” has a superb pace shift about 7 minutes in, the part before is uninspiring.

Fans of The Field will know the feeling of immersing yourself in his music, waiting for the moment when something magical happens. On Cupid’s Head there are moments of magic, but you’ll have to remain patient. (www.kompakt.fm/artists/the_field)

Author rating: 6.5/10