New State レコード& CD

Review: Soothing kosmische tones by British electronica band The Beloved, with a reissued indie-facing compilation of early singles. First released in 1993, this record came to consciousness at the same time as it hit the UK albums chart; and we're not surprised it did, for its angelic mixing, creaseless sound, and sophisticated easy listening progressions. Out of the 90s vogue for desirous house, trip-hop and downtempo a-la Everything But The Girl and Lamb came The Beloved with the smash 'Sweet Harmony', but the sweet, vivid breaths and basses of the sinuous 'Lose Yourself In Me' and paradisiacal lounge phonics of 'You've Got Me Thinking' also stand out.

Review: 17 years old and still sounding refreshing, light, breezy, soulful and smoky; the essence and vibe of Zero 7's debut album can never be repeated, but it can be repressed. Its first reissue since 2015, across two 12"s you can enjoy some of the best downtempo and poppy Balearica made by the duo Binns & Hardaker and a young Sia on vocals. Highlights, as always, include the dreamy lounge lapping jazz of "Red Dust", the fizzy Motown on mushrooms horns of "Give It Away" and the heartmelting yearns of "Distractions". Timeless downtempo gold, if this isn't in your collection now is most definitely the time.

Review: When It Falls is a timely but classic album from Zero 7, whose music by the point of 2001 had been firmly planted chiefly among the go-to repertoire for chillout music, before the chillout room itself was ousted from the average club. Sporting such popular singles as 'Home' and 'Warm Sounds', the record also features now-stellar artists Sia Furler and Sophie Barker, pre-empting their latter-day fame with an emphasis on talent alone. The overall sound is slinky and cadenced, daring to incorporate uniques from bossa nova and lounge in what would have otherwise been an incongruous soundworld of breakbeat, trip-hop and electro; this is achieved through as much acoustic instrumentation and as many tactile recordings as possible.