CANDO レコード& CD

Review: Earlier in the year, Livity Sound's "reverse" offshoot Dnous Ytivil returned after a two-year absence via a fine collaborative release from Hodge and Randomer. This relatively speedy follow-up is, if anything, even better, with debutant Bristol duo Cando serving up a trio of cuts that fuse typically Bristolian techno rhythms and serious bass-weight with tropical sounds and pleasingly glassy-eyed synthesizer melodies. It's a formula arguably best exemplified by bustling title track "Bleak", whose UK funky-influenced percussive pressure and surging bass-weight is offset by the picturesque quality of the electronic sounds placed on top. That said, the slightly more tribal Afro-tech drums and blissful synthesizer motifs of "Sundown" are also hugely impressive, while closing cut "Bleak (Dub)" is a sparse and heavy soundscape that reminded us of fellow Bristolian Ossia.