Tag Archives: Domino

On Record – Panda Bear & Sonic Boom: A ? OF WHEN (Domino)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The second collaborative album between Animal Collective’s Panda Bear and founding member of Spacemen 3, Sonic Boom, looks to build on their successful work together on the Reset album of 2022.

A ? OF WHEN takes a different approach, using as its source material harp loops from Mary Lattimore, together with steel drum sequences, pedal steel webs and fragments of a mariachi band.

While the music might sound detached, it is actually a sharply observed commentary on the state of the world. As the album progresses they look at online exhaustion and progressive depression, political upheaval and the environment.

As the text on the press release states, “The goal is for the music to create physical connections between people, to encourage them to enjoy a real experience in the world with it and each other.”

What’s the music like?

In relation to the objective of the album, it is very much job done – for a listen to this album gives the listener a lasting positivity.

There may be some lyrical dark spots on the surface but musically this is bright sunshine, a celebration of two musical minds meeting and sparking some genuinely uplifting music.

The obvious reference points are The Beach Boys, with a frisson of The Mamas and the Papas and also The Zombies, but all updated with electronic knowhow and hazy production warmth. The source material – Lattimore’s harp and the accompanying steel band brightness – is economically used, and proves the perfect complement for Panda Bear’s vocals.

These are as distinctive as ever, and burrow into your brain via the incredibly catchy Lucky Charm or the light / dark alternations of Graveyard, up in tempo but down in lyrics.

The chorus of Never Givin’ In is a lasting show of strength, while the upbeat title track follows suit. Pray to you is immersed in watery strings, while Somethin’ that lasts shows this music has staying power, finding grace and tender moments among the woozy reverb.

Does it all work?

It does. The two work easily in each other’s company, and the resultant sound is like a musical heatwave.

Is it recommended?

Heartily. Music can be so much fun in collaboration, and A ? OF WHEN celebrates the outcome. Pure musical enjoyment was rarely so immediate!

For fans of… Animal Collective, The Beach Boys, Peaking Lights, Supertramp

Listen / Buy

You can explore purchase options for A ? of When on the Domino Music website

Published post no.2,981 – Thursday 13 August 2026

Switched On – Daniel Avery – Tremor (Domino)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

To quote the press release, Daniel Avery returns with his most ambitious work to date.

“Channelling every corner of his sound, Tremor is a bold and transportive body of work through euphoric shoegaze, submerged techno, ambient soundscape and industrial bliss. It remains unmistakably Avery, yet dramatically evolved.

As with his previous long player, Avery brings an inspiring cast of collaborators, headed by Alison Mosshart (The Kills) but also featuring Walter Schreifels (Quicksand / Rival Schools), bdrmm, Julie Dawson (NewDad), yeule, Ellie, Art School Girlfriend, yunè pinku, and Cecile Believe.

“This is a living and breathing collective,” says Avery. “Since the earliest recordings, Tremor felt like a studio in the sky, a space in time through which we could all pass as artists” he reflects. “It’s the welcoming spirit of acid house with the doors flung open wider still to allow in every influence from my musical journey: the warmth of distortion, the stillness inside intensity, the transcendental beauty of noise… They have always been there in my music but now it feels like those ideas are being transmitted in Technicolor. This is a record for the post-rave comedown kids, the guitar heads and anyone else who wants to come along for the ride. Everyone is welcome.”

What’s the music like?

Expansive – and also progressive. Avery is honing his approach, happy to mix a song-based structure with spacious instrumentals, all with an eye on the headphone listener.

Shoegaze influences abound, while there are also echoes of Trentemøller and Nine Inch Nails, but the overall has Avery’s unmistakable stamp of quality, the otherworldly elements that give his music such a striking profile.

There is a huge space for Cecile Believe’s cool vocal on Rapture In Blue, then big guitars, NIN style, for Haze. A Silent Shadow is similarly massive, with a lovely haze to the  bdrmm vocals and an impressive punch to the grungy guitars. Greasy off the Racing Line has power but feels more derivative, while Tremor itself is superb, reminiscent of Hybrid in their cinematic heyday. A Memory Wrapped In Paper And Smoke is a spacious treat after that, followed by the lovely, calming chant of Art School Girlfriend on closing track I Feel You.

Does it all work?

Largely – occasionally, the feeling of mid-90s nostalgia is impossible to ignore, but this feels largely a forward facing album.

Is it recommended?

It is. Daniel Avery creates unusual colours and soundscapes of the deepest hues, and their cinematic production proves the ideal foil for his vocal guests. Power, poise and ambience coexist to great effect here!

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,735 – Thursday 4 December 2025

Switched On – Ela Minus: DÍA (Domino)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Colombian producer and vocalist Ela Minus made waves with her debut LP for Domino, Acts Of Rebellion, in 2020.

Now DÍA, the follow-up, is described as “a record about becoming, from a process that entailed self-discovery at a deliberate pace to songs that seem to collectively ask where we go from here, long after we’ve been broken but long before we intend to be broken forever.”

Minus worked with the same team as her debut, Marta Salogni and Heba Kadry providing the critical studio support.

What’s the music like?

There is a notable urgency in the way Ela Minus makes her music, and a confidence that she is saying exactly what she wants to say, with a compelling mixture of pop sensibility, underground electronic creativity and a willingness to try new things.

After Abrir Monte gives us an airy introduction, Minus goes for broke with the epic Broken, and the glitchy track IDK. Onwards drives forward with impressive intent and focus, while Upwards takes those qualities to the next level with terrific momentum, a suitable way to crown the short but urgent tracklist.

Does it all work?

It does. While DÍA could arguably benefit from being longer, it is a statement of intent, a compressed but vital piece of work.

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically – a telling reminder of the abundance of talent in South American electronic music. Ela Minus is an original voice who, on this evidence, has plenty more to say and plenty more places to go.

For fans of… Miss Kittin, Ellen Allien, Sofia Kourtesis, The Hacker

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,457 – Wednesday 26 February 2025

On Record – One True Pairing – Endless Rain (Domino)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

One True Pairing is the moniker for Tom Fleming, once of Wild Beasts – and is a vehicle that he has used for frank and honest commentary on his life.

In some commendably honest interviews, Fleming has spoken of his mental health difficulties, exacerbated by addiction, but has explained too how music has helped bring him round from them to a much safer space.

Having given notice of his solo potential with his self-titled debut record in 2019, Fleming returns with a host of instrumentalists in tow, but with his guitar kept closest to him.

What’s the music like?

Fleming is a confidential songwriter, letting the listener in to all corners of his world. This is most apparent on songs like Doubt, where he honestly offers up the lyric “I will always do what it takes, but there’s a doubt I can’t shake”. I Don’t Want To Do This Anymore goes further, regretting that “again, we’re lying in a puddle that we made”.

That he makes these brave asides is value enough, but when set against the beautiful instrumentation, chosen with regular collaborator Josh Taylor-Moon and producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy, the results are compelling. Prince Of Darkness is like a coiled spring, Fleming’s urgent vocal offering reassurance from the calm bed of guitars around it, before a sweeping harp takes over. Endless Rain is on firmer ground, and Midlife Crisis finds impressive resolve in the face of its doubts.

Throughout, Fleming’s voice is as personal as could be, its husk burning a path into the listener’s soul. At times this can lead to uncomfortable truths – A Landlord’s Death especially – while elsewhere it feels like a consoling hug. Ruthless Streak is darkly coloured but its string harmonics take it through a fever dream.

Perhaps most affecting of all is Frozen Food Centre, a beautiful epic where swirling guitars back a song about childhood, with the reassurance of home but the threat of spectres lurking in the aisles of the supermarket.

Does it all work?

It does. There is some remarkable music here, written out of necessity – and it makes a powerful impact.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. Those remembering Wild Beasts would be well advised to add One True Pairing to their collection if they haven’t already, as would those whose heads might be turned by songs with a folky edge. On this record Tom Fleming is in the same space as the listener, pouring out heart and soul, and his music resonates deeply with both.

For fans of… Wild Beasts, Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, John Martyn

Listen and Buy

Published post no.2,363 – Friday 15 November 2024

On Record – Hayden Thorpe – Ness (Domino)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

For his third solo album, Hayden Thorpe has relocated. Until now the former Wild Beasts singer has been closely linked with his home town of Kendal, but, having fallen under the spell of Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness, he felt compelled to write an album about it.

Ness is effectively a portrait of Orford Ness, just down the Suffolk coast from Aldeburgh. A deeply mysterious place, it is a shingle spit used by the Ministry of Defence for weapons development during both World Wars and the Cold War. As the work died out so the place has returned to the wild, and was acquired by the National Trust to aid that very purpose.

It remains a deeply mysterious place, and Macfarlane’s book, aided by the illustrations of Stanley Donwood, brought it to eerie life in print form. Thorpe aims to do the same in music, using a process of redaction to bring Macfarlane’s text to life.

What’s the music like?

In a word, striking.

Thorpe’s voice continues to be the main instrument in his music, a versatile tenor capable of a full-bodied falsetto but also with a soft lower range. Yet here it is joined by an imaginative body of instruments led by Jack McNeill’s clarinet, with which the voice often dovetails, and beautiful choral arrangements from Kerry Andrew. Added to these are instruments fashioned from Orford Ness itself, including the ominous sound of an orchestral bass drum, whose tread brings dread to The Green Chapel.

Robert Macfarlane’s words are gripping. “Listen. Listen now. Listen to Ness!”, goes the text at the start of They, one of several gender-themed songs at the album’s heart, along with She and He. All three are perfectly suited to Thorpe’s voice, which effectively removes the separation between the human and natural worlds, while channelling the half light so effectively found by bands such as Talk Talk.

Does it all work?

It does – and rewards greater time spent with the music, as every contour of the area is brought to life.

Is it recommended?

It is. Hayden Thorpe’s portrait of Ness is a fascinating and compelling experience, one to hear in the context of Benjamin Britten’s music that profiles Aldeburgh in such a vivid way. Thorpe brings every fascinating and ghastly element of Ness to the table, in music of great presence and character.

For fans of… Talk Talk, Brian Eno, Erland Cooper, Benjamin Britten

Listen and Buy

Published post no.2,343 – Saturday 26 October 2024