“I wanted to make an album very different to the first,” says Ryan Hunn in the press release for his second album as Illum Sphere, “one with a different palette, pace and energy.” He has certainly achieved that, but he also impresses with the cohesive way in which ‘Glass’ hangs together. This is a record that draws on the electronic music heritage of the 1980s, with a smattering of early techno, but is well crafted by an original hand too. Wounded takes its lead from a shortish loop to spin a beautiful web, while Thousand Yard Stare begins as an intensely introverted track but gains in power rather impressively. Signing off with the majestic ‘Paradise’, Hunn completes a subtly captivating piece of work.
Ben Hogwood
4 out of 5
ILLUM SPHERE – GLASS – NINJA TUNE
