Album Review - Floating Points // Crush

Crush is the latest full length LP from the electronic music maverick, crater digger, orchestral curator and neuroscientist: Dr Sam Shepherd. To think we've had 10 glorious years of music released by him under this moniker…

Crush marks his first album since 2015's Elaenia but not before releasing a detailed array of singles and EP's ranging from experimental electronica to off-beat dub house. This album couldn’t be more different, and signifies a slightly different musical direction for Shepherd. He says, speaking of Crush, that he wanted to capture in some form the "aggressive, obtuse music" from the unplanned half-hour sets played when touring with The xx. This album is targeted less at late night after-sessions and more at the club directly. And great timing too; I've been really craving some harder, more beat driven tracks from Floating Points from which he is more than capable at producing - think Ratio, King Bromeliad or ARP3, to name a few.

The instrumental opener, Falaise, acts as a sort of prologue. It's reminiscent of Andy Stott or even Leon Vynehall's latest stuff. This grandiose orchestral opening displays Shepherd's diverse repertoire of music knowledge, that of classical music (Shepherd has played classic piano since he was a child). The oscillator, when applied to the acoustic instruments creates a beautiful sound which ebbs and flows throughout the track, speeding up and slowing down. And when the song eventually builds into a climatic crescendo of violas, clarinet, french horn and more, we are left with a feeling of unbroken tension as the final minor chord is never resolved. At this point I already get the feeling the album is going to be terrific.

Last Bloom opens with eerie synth, which then blurs together with a grainy, sampled down drum sound. The song unfolds some more with some colourful sounds, and the ever present oscillator provides some rich energy, all before an abrupt ending.

Anasickmodular has this overarching garage-sounding beat to it which I really like. The first 2 minutes builds with layer upon layer of cosmic sounding strings. And I can't help thinking of Richard D. James when I hear the ending.

Karakul acts as an interlude before undoubtedly the best song on the album, LesAplx comes on. With its aggressive bass and a delightful combination of deep synth arpeggios, I exclaim in my head:  'This is a fuckin' banger.'  And when those spiky, high cut-off sounds come in, it creates some great moments. The extended version is even more worthy of your time. Man, this guy can really turn it up a notch when he wants to. The pacing of this album is superb.

Bias maintains the high energy of LesAlpx. The song slowly evolves into a minimal duo of drums and bass; garage overtones are present again. A building high pitched synth ensues before converging into a brilliantly discreet piano breakdown. Environments, again keeps the tempo high, and unveils some fresh, futuristic drum tones. And then the final minute or so introduces some really heavy beats and an off kilter sound, with this reoccurring whining synth lead which sounds more like it comes from another planet than it does Shepherd's recording studio. Speaking of that, it would be rude not to mention the amount of production that has gone into this album, which is clear to the keen listener.

The high energy then recedes to give way to some more ambient scores - something Shepherd has done so well over the years. Sea-Watch envelops us in a beautiful hypnosis of strings and piano. Apoptose, Pt. 1 then presents us with a melancholic melody which sort of reminds me of the Harry Potter theme in first film. The seemingly improvised drum machines then carry out the remainder of the LP.

This album is an absolute thing of beauty. It's so meticulously crafted and is filled with myriad subtle intricacies. The layers upon layers of synth and drum machines conflating to make some truly unique sounds is what truly sets Floating Points above many of his musical peers. The progressions are emotionally evocative and feel like they have so much substance, while the drum beats have more depth than the Mariana trench. This is as much a techno album as it is ambient as it is IDM. The familiarities of Crush to artists such as Aphex Twin are obvious, but Shepherd has so uniquely crafted his own authentic style. Crush is aggressive but it's also sentimental. It has an array of club tracks which will appease certain fans, but some of the more inaccessible songs may alienate some new listeners.

The underground scene for UK electronic music, which now borders on the mainstream, is as popular as it's been for decades. And with musicians like Floating Points and more working in different spheres, the scene continues to grow strong and varied. I think this album opens up avenues for new electronic music produces to delve into, and offers inspiration for those already melding their craft.

To say Crush is a masterpiece would be an overstatement, but only just.

Elliot Bliss