Cold Spring Fault Less Youth

It’s a surprisingly challenging task to adequately pin down the music of Mount Kimbie. As with this century’s other electronic magicians, Dominic Maker and Kai Campos construct music which sounds static at first, but begins to bend and shapeshift with gradual replays. Consequently, it’s hard to offer  a balanced assessment of their second album, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth.

Following 2010’s widely-acclaimed Crooks & Lovers, the experimental London duo flexed their chops further with two EPs before being signed last year – to Warp Records, no less. While the resultant record does not represent a dramatic departure by any stretch, there is a clear sense of Mount Kimbie’s horizons broadening that little bit further, embodied in a willingness to tinker with more elaborate soundscapes, textures, and collaborations. It’s a slight shift in consciousness which bodes well, resulting in some of their most appealing material yet.

Maker and Campos have done an excellent job with regards to the record’s production, producing a varied canvas which is by turns murky, yet gleaming with dashes of invention. ‘Home Recording’ begins the album with a lo-fi keyboard motif and a beat which sounds like rain pattering against a window. It’s a quiet, introspective opening that sets something of a precedent for the album as a whole. Indeed, Cold Spring… doesn’t grapple with one’s attention from the get-go: instead, its looping melodies and buried hooks must be unpicked over repeated listens to fully appreciate the sturdy foundations beneath.

Such murkiness is further augmented with the arrival of King Krule, who moonlights on two (three, counting a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo on ‘Break Well’) cuts here to brilliant effect. “Now that you see me / I killed a man,” he growls over the menacing wobbles of ‘You Took Your Time’, before embarking on a slew of hypnotically gruesome imagery (sample lyric: “down slaps the meat”). Krule’s appearances add a much-needed dose of grit to proceedings, helping to add that crucial extra spice to the album’s darker passages.

The murkier edges of their latest forays are fascinating to behold, but in truth, Mount Kimbie are at their most captivating when they allow some light and warmth to pervade their sonic palette.

As gripping as these moments are, however, there are some real pop gems to be found in the Cold Spring. ‘Break Well’ is a work of beauty, unspooling in a passage of smoky ambience before splitting into an entrancing swirl of keys and warm bass. And even if it does cut away too abruptly for its own good, there’s no doubting the sheer joy which defines every second of its final minute. ‘Made to Stray’ is also tremendous: a deftly-assembled cocktail of woodpecker beats and effervescent vocal hooks which is as catchy as it is structurally fascinating.

Taken in its entirety, Cold Spring… offers an impressive collage of sounds and textures, though there remain a handful of cuts which don’t hold much appeal beyond the confines of a front-to-back listen. In spite of some late flourishes, ‘Blood and Form’ struggles to elevate itself beyond a dreary mumble, and the failure of ‘Sullen Ground’ to grasp a viable melody curdles its steamy shimmer into something forgettable. In addition, possibly due to the updated assortment of instrumentation, Cold Spring… does feel slightly lacking in consistency. The duo’s willingness to develop musically is commendable, yet this does mean the album lacks its own distinctive sense of cohesion, making it seem more like a clutch of assorted tracks, rather than a seamless tableau.

Nevertheless, for electronica aficionados, Cold Spring… holds enough neat tricks to mark it as a worthwhile listen. The progressions made since Crooks & Lovers are clear to hear, and Maker and Campos are certainly two talents worth keeping an eye on. The murkier edges of their latest forays are intriguing to behold, but in truth, Mount Kimbie are at their most captivating when they allow some light and warmth to pervade their sonic palette.

Similar To: Gold Panda, Lapalux

MP3: ‘Break Well’, ‘Made to Stray’, ‘Slow’