BLOOD ORANGE レコード& CD

Review: Formerly part of the risible Test Icicles and previously known as Lightspeed Champion, the now New York-based Devonte Hynes will release Coastal Grooves his 'official' debut album under the Blood Orange pseudonym, later this summer. As a precursor, he's put together this low-price "mixtape" of home recordings, demos and cast-offs to whet our appetites. Given its piecemeal nature, Home Recordings Mixtape is a pretty tasty collection. Apparently originally designed to accompany his various late-night drives around New York City, it neatly blurs the boundaries between glassy-eyed 80s synth grooves, soft rock, slow jams, blue-eyed soul and late night AM radio favourites. Naturally, it's pretty stylized and there's an air of the too-cool-for-school about it, but the effervescent quality of the ultra-atmospheric music on offer easily outweighs such misgivings.