Samoyed - Honey Dripping Behind

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  • It's hard to know what to make of Samoyed. His twitter is a carefully cultivated stew of sarcasm and oddness, the PR accompanying this release says he was once a lovely, trusting lad but is now consumed by anger, yet in a recent interview the man himself said he was actually happier than he has ever been. There are few clues in his music, which has so far ranged from downbeat and anaemic to vocal, tripped out and hip-hoppy. This debut on Lukid's similarly oddball GLUM shifts the goal posts once again. It finds the Scot turning his attention to a more fulsome and ravey sound, but one that—unsurprisingly—is as idiosyncratic and imperfect as ever. Opening with "Cherry Ripe," the vibe is doleful from the off, but it doesn't lack purpose: A lingering bassline plunders at its own pace as lively, well-defined drums and snares pat out a half-tropical rhythm. Soaring strings poke through during the drum-less sections and the whole thing feels like it's slowly limbering up to action on a lazy Sunday morning. The title track, on the other hand, hasn't been to bed: it's a tight, splintered and lo-fi techno rampage that surges along a on a 90 MPH hi-hat line for five frenzied minutes. "Klondike Rush" sounds like a glassy and glistening Echolations-era Lone cut for its ping-ponging melodies and refracted rave euphoria, before the simultaneously harsh yet heartfelt sounding "A Small Good Thing" drops back down to the lethargic and predatory tempos Samoyed has oft favoured in the past. Jagged, compressed and slapping claps are offset by a smooth undulating bassline and the whole thing is drenched in an atmospheric tape hiss. Whatever the mindset of the man behind the music, the dishevelled sounds he continues to put forth never fail to beguile.
  • Tracklist
      01. Her Honey Dripping Behind 02. Cherry Ripe 03. Klondike Rush 04. A Small Good Thing
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