I’ve never met him, but I would imagine Zomby is a bit like that kid at school who has a short attention because so many things are rushing through their mind at once. I mean that as a compliment, because Zomby is so full of musical ideas that he has chosen to fill out two discs with them – and even with that considerable length his listener is never going to be bored or short changed. The styles here are many and varied, but all specialise in operating off the beat – so we get some extremely convincing drum & bass that wouldn’t sound out of place in 1994 (‘Overdose’) or a much cooler track like ‘Glass Ocean’, which tends more towards dubstep. Zomby has the ability to write this cool, more ambient music as well as the sharper tracks like ‘Vortex’, cutting loose with a serrated bass line, and none of the tracks are too long. It’s this sense of structure and invention that keeps him up there with the best UK producers, though it would be interesting now to hear him team up with a vocalist or two. For now, though, this is another string to his already impressive bow.
4 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
