[9/10]
Surrey siblings ‘Disclosure’ draw you in instantly in their latest album ‘Settle’ where they combine electronic sounds of the 90’s with some deep house. Right from the first track ‘When a fire starts to burn’ you get a sense of disclosures music making ability – they are not just two guys messing around with virtual DJ. The album certainly isn’t meaningless drumbeats and electronic sounds like some house artists; but instead a hypnotic web of musical excellence with each song combining its own motifs, ideas and styles amidst the entrancing drum beats and subtle voices that weave over the top.
Their track ‘White noise’, featuring Aluna George, is a favorite for nightclub DJ’s. It always provokes loud cheers from the crowds followed by some insane dance moves becoming one of the most popular Ibiza tracks of the summer! My personal favourite off the album has to be their most recent single ‘F for you’, which is extremely catchy and has a superb bass line. Another more overlooked but incredible song off the album is ‘Confess to me’ featuring Jessie Ware with a particularly prominent chorus featuring some good harmony.
One criticism of the album would be that certain songs do have similar styles and similar sounding drums especially. As a result there is a certain amount of repetitiveness; however this is minimal and Disclosures wide range of musical ideas, guest singers and different sounds soon takes you past this initial thought. It could also be said that during certain songs the balance is not ideal with instruments drowning out vocals in an occasionally hectic blend.
Some string sounds over the top of a couple of songs also make this album a unique musical blend with synthesizers, keyboard sounds, singing, electronic bass and a wide variety of drum noises. Oh and of course heavy use of pitch bend, filtering and resonance – it wouldn’t be house otherwise! If you listen to this album on decent headphones and shut your eyes you are sure to get lost in the world of Disclosure as the sounds echo around and different noises hit you from all directions.
In general this album is highly recommended – even for those who aren’t huge house/electronic lovers this something totally different that must be given a go. But be carefully as you may just become addicted to their cleverly produced tunes.
Henry Cowling
