The colourful cover of this record gives a good indication to its contents. ‘The Gamble’ is actually a home banker, a collection of warm and fuzzy moments from Nils Frahm, Frederic Gmeiner and Sebastian Singwald. nonkeen is a collection of experimental sessions with tapes that set about making some expansive pictures in sound, and like Frahm’s other work it doesn’t really deal in melody as such, but has many memorable moments, most of them without beats. ‘the invention mother’ sets the scene with its swirly atmospherics, both calming and invigorating at the same time, while ‘animal farm’ does employ a kick drum, ambling along easily with a shaker for company. ‘chasing god through palmyra’ shows more energy still, with a nippy percussion track complemented by a slow moving backdrop of unusual, questioning harmonies, while ‘the beautiful mess’ creates a rather beautiful portrait of Paris on the quiet. This is a really nicely done album, proving that you should definitely judge a book by its cover!
4 out of 5
Reviewed by Ben Hogwood
