- An eagerly awaited album this, but something of a mixed bag. Throughout its 22 tracks (!) King Britt explores new textures, lyrics and speech rhythms, using musical styles that encapsulate hip hop, soul and 80s funk amongst others. A wide range of guest artists make for a constantly changing sound picture, but that still doesn't stop the album outstaying its welcome somewhat.
However...there are some radical tracks here. Rich Medina lends his lower-than-Barry White tones to the thought-provoking 'Planetary Analysis' and the closing 'A Foreigner No Longer', while by contrast the helium-like tones of Quasimoto give plenty of tautness on 'Spaces'. Effective use of cross-rhythms makes 'The Sound' one of the stand-out cuts, and 'Depth' (featuring Roblife) is spacious in texture. I'd recommend avoiding the three 'Observations' tracks however, as these come across as pretentious.
An interesting record, certainly, and highly original in places, but ultimately too long and inconsistent. Don't be surprised if the next record is more coherent and hits the bullseye.