Machinedrum – the alias of Travis Stewart – has been around for a while, but this is by far his highest profile release. ‘Vapor City’ is a bold album that looks to push the boundaries of styles through rhythm, while creating intense sound worlds and atmospheres. The striking single ‘Gunshotta’ leads a very strong start, with its wide open approach an inner city portrait in sound before the hybrid rhythm kicks in. It is typical of Stewart’s approach, his material peppered with high energy rhythms but also tender and affecting centres – perfect for home listening as well as freaking out to. ‘Center Your Love’ is one of those with a softer underbelly, a warm hearted track, while the ambitious instrumental ‘Infinite Us’, powered by flowing piano lines, shows that Stewart can handle large scale structures as well. There are a lot of single-producer beat driven albums around at the moment, but Machinedrum has forced his way right to the front of the queue with this powerful contribution.
5 out of 5
Reviewed by Ben Hogwood
