THE BLACK DOG レコード& CD

Review: Way back in 2006, when for various reasons they were suffering with insomnia, the Black Dog began making music when sleep deprived - a process the Sheffield trio say made their material more emotive and vulnerable. At various times since, they've returned to the idea, resulting in this album - a collection of immersive musical movements that frequently blur the boundaries between the enveloping ambience the IDM pioneers have become famous for in recent years, and (synth) string-laden neo-classical compositions. Of course, it's not all picturesque sonic beauty, with the paranoia and slow-thinking darkness sometimes associated with periods of sleep deprivation being translated into trippy, melancholic or sonically intense soundscapes rooted in drone and dark ambient. Throughout, it remains surprisingly emotive and - for the most part - pleasingly meditative.

Review: Album number six from Sheffield's electronic heroes The Black Dog was closer to their debut, Bytes, than anything that came in between. "We never set out to make it like Bytes," group member Martin Dust has since explained. "My idea was to create something you could come home to after you'd just ben to a club or gig, that would start at the right pace and then just wind down into a great album and just chill out." Suffice to say, they achieved that and then some. Silenced is an example of downtempo that still feels like it has one foot in the rave, sounds informed by 4AM highs and 10AM quiet, here made precious through the use of blissful and complex tones that envelop and encase your mind. A record everyone should own.