Do not be fooled into expecting an album of anodyne radio-soul. That is the danger of false expectations from Aqualung’s biggest previous hit, ‘Strange and Beautiful’, which, while being both of those things, made reviewers like me resort to lazy genre stereotyping when I came to listen to this new album. I could not have been more surprised, because when the all action ‘Tape2Tape’ bursts from the blocks you know ’10 Futures’ is looking forward rather than backwards. It continues that way throughout, not always successfully, but always in a way that suggests the man behind the project, Matt Hales, is keen to push boundaries and try something new. ‘Shame On Me’, featuring Josef Salvat, is a remarkable song whose intriguing beats have a bitter aftertaste, while the tender ‘Clean’ with Sweet Billy Pilgrim has a vulnerable side. The big beats-lush harmonies combination of ‘Hearts’ show Hales is keen on harnessing a few ‘80s funk elements, and ‘To The Wonder’ introduces us to the wonderful voice of Kina Grannis. Having your expectations confounded in this way is always a good thing – and Hales will make you sit up and take notice of his urgent and often thrilling moves.
