Dutch duo Dam Swindle return to their very own Heist label with a brand new long player. The new album sees the acclaimed couple dive far beyond the deep sonic waters they are most known for, exploring lower tempos, synthwave, even hip-house, and ambient get mixed in the melting pot across fourteen tracks. With a gestation period that traces back several years, ‘Open’ is their most intimate and personal body of work thus far, birthed during a time of self-reflection away from touring and personal transformation as individuals. While the trademark Dam Swindle four-to-the-floor beats are still ever-present on tracks like ‘The Present Is Always Perfect’, ‘I Need You’, and ‘Is This Love?’, it’s the gentle waves of synths on opener ‘Home’, the contemplative piano chords of ‘Bloom’ featuring Joep Beving, and the lo-fi ambience of ‘It’s Okay, I Can Wait’ that showcase a melancholic, ethereal sensibility previously uncharted by the duo. Collaborations with vocalists such as NYC’s Haile Supreme on ‘Not Enough’ and Neo-soul singer Faye Meana on ‘Girl’ expertly find room in between the dancefloor and home listening sessions, and a clear standout on the LP is the title cut where message-heavy rapped vocals from UK artist Samson ebb and flow amongst iridescent grooves. This is how a well structured dance album used to look like some decades ago. It’s very good to see, that Dam Swindle are doing it the classic way even in rushing times. May success prove them right.
HOUSE
4.5 out of 5
https://soundcloud.com/heistrecordings/not-enough-feat-haile-supreme
Reviewed by MANNIX
