Review Summary: More sleek and sultry house from one of the genre's most acclaimed young producers
There’s something rather exciting about listening to a new Floating Points jam, hearing those delicate and sultry, yet slightly demure melodies gently applying themselves so intricately and seamlessly over the pop and crackle of his minimalist percussion setups. And while this particular style of super slinky house has become all too common place nowadays, with every producer choosing to dive into the re-awakened juke and footloose worlds, here it’s a little more presentable and stylish, a little more innocent and humble as well. This more subdued strain of deep house enthusiasm is one that we’ve come to expect from the young up and comer, who carved out a name for himself on the back of some truly impressive releases over the last two years. But
Shadows is the quintessential step up for the rising star, his beats now a little more fleshed out and solidified, where his melodies and ideas are a touch more defined and on display rather than simply being alluded to.
It would be a rather accurate guess to say that
Shadows is the result of a fairly hefty amount of influence though, with its open and vast sections that exist only as echo-laden flashbacks and hazy morning-after flashbacks. There are deft shades of the Detroit scene infused within the music, with causal nods to the likes of Omar-S and Theo Parrish smuggled deftly into the mix, hidden away within the slightly love-drunk and tripped out synth arrangements(sections that echo the likes of Julio Bashmore or Joy Orbison at their most provacative). Moments of smoked-out jazz also find themselves pulled into the affair, most notably on powerhouse opener ‘Myrtle Avenue’, though small shards of cafe cool motifs are liberally applied across the entire project.
While
Shadows is a touch more introspective than anything we’ve come to expect from Floating Points, there are still moments where he unashamedly falls back into more grand designs; ‘ARP3’ is a playful yet insistent slab of 4x4 glory that feeds off of one of the most efficient hooks this year, and the dubbed-out ‘Sais’ (which recently turned up on Four Tet’s grandslam Fabric mix) purrs along sublimely under a threnody of jerky half-step measures and unrestrained sweeps of his keyboard.
While there is a certain need to point out that
Shadows (at times) seems more like an observation that an actual statement ( as if Floating points has merely soaked in a host of myriad styles and takes on the already tried and true chic house scene), it’s lack of immediacy works towards its favor, the way it almost seems to guard itself, only reluctantly willing to reveal its inner contents. It’s not a case of the artist playing his cards a little too close to his chest, more a rebellion or counterpoint to the more dizzying dance anecdotes of the day. It’s the cherished glass of wine instead of the dirty cocktail, its Floating Points coming into his own, it’s richer and ultimately, more fulfilling, than we’ve ever heard him before.
