Debut album ‘Less Than Human’ announced The Juan Maclean as a force to be reckoned with, a producer who could breathe human emotions into the most processed and robotic music. For his second album the New York-based producer has upped the tempo, shortened a lot of the tracks and brought in a female vocalist, Nancy Whang, full time. Whang has collaborated with Maclean and James Murphy before, so know’s what’s expected – and delivers in a style that recalls the Human League, especially in the way Maclean’s vocals cross over with her. Maclean still does a couple of excellent long-breathed tracks at the start (‘The Simple Life’) and finish (‘Happy House’), but this is a record that shows he has more pop sensibility than first thought. Not only that, but he knows how to make slow burning electronica interesting – and upping the tempo this time out has made his music impressively vital. One of the albums of this year, without a doubt.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Ben Hogwood