by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Oxford producer Sebastian Reynolds follows up his September 2023 debut album, Canary, with this set of reworks bringing together source material from collaborations with his previous bands, namely Flights Of Helios and The Epstein.

The collaborative album also welcomes Irish artists Bróna McVittie, Rezo and The Mining Co. as well as West Country group Will Lawton & The Alchemists and New York duo Kritters. The album complements his atmospheric writing with Neon Dance, and his self-termed “athletics themed bangers”, produced with Dubwiser and darqwud.

What’s the music like?

The heat haze of summer courses through Reynolds’ music. He is a gifted and versatile writer, bringing a wide range of beats and textures to make an album that runs fluently.

The songwriting is on point, too – IYSCM especially, a reimagining of If You Could See Me, where breathy vocal interjections are complemented by guitarist Myles Cochran. The destination here is unmistakably poolside, with a lovely Balearic disco feel.

The warmth is a feature of the album, which unwinds with a reworking of Dubwiser’s The Jackal), a loping broken beat number with UNKLE leanings (Molotov, with Rezo), and the breezy Fossils Of The Mind, a collaboration with Will Lawton & The Alchemists. Also making its mark is the attractive indie-baggy hybrid Broken, with Bróna McVittie, and One Year To Go, a Michael Patrick Gallagher co-write with more than a hint of Andrew Weatherall. Finally Make This Our Drone removes the beats but turns everything up to 11, a richly coloured wall of sound.

Does it all work?

It does – and if anything some of the reworks later in the album could be longer, for good vibes abound in their rich melodic content.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. The carefree mood created by New Beginnings is perfect for summer listening, a blissful set of sounds that cover a surprisingly large number of bases. Sebastian Reynolds is a talented producer and songwriter, who deserves to expand his audience considerably with this welcome dose of musical warmth.

For fans of… UNKLE, Ian Brown, Andrew Weatherall, Gorillaz

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,603 – Tuesday 29 July 2025