In the press release for All That Must Be, George FitzGerald describes the story behind his second album as ‘ten tracks that recall feelings of anticipation, fear, excitement and regret’. Channelling emotions into electronic music is always a welcome thing, for it brings a human element to the more processed loops – and in this case FitzGerald and his guests achieve an ideal balance between the two. Tracey Thorn is the standout guest on ‘Half Light’, slightly fuzzy in its delivery as it seems to exist in that dream state at either end of the day, but just as effective is Hudson Scott’s turn on the warm hearted ‘Nobody But You’. And yet in spite of the affecting vocal tracks, it is the instrumentals that speak with greatest emotion – ‘Two Moons Under’ and the more energetic ‘Burns’ may work well at the start, but it is the gorgeous instrumental ‘Passing Trains’, with which the album melts away, that leaves the lasting impression. Fans of Bonobo will enjoy his guest slot on ‘Outgrown’, but at the same time will relate to the language of the rest of the album, which is cut from similar cloth. An illustration of just how much one man can achieve when he knows how best to use his machines!
Ben Hogwood
4 out of 5
GEORGE FITZGERALD – ALL THAT MUST BE – DOUBLE SIX
