Secret Angels レコード& CD

Review: It's been a while since we heard from Seven Davis Jr, and we guess this new album is why. The US house maverick brought all new edge and vocal style to his beats when he first broke through, and following "an unexpectedly bad year" after his last album Stranger Than Fiction, he channels more darkness and aggression into this record. It's still built on house rhythms but they're raw, slamming and make no concessions, his vocals often sounding almost paranoid as they lurk in the shadows between the dusty kicks and distorted, grimy basslines. A marvellous return.

Review: Houston's Seven Davis Jr continues his musical explorations via his Secret Angles imprint, serving three floor-focused cuts on 'Is This The Apocalypse'. The long-serving US producer, vocalist and DJ is unafraid of experimentation, and his latest offering delivers a set of forward-facing house and techno hybrids. Stripped, straight to the point, simultaneously familiar and fresh i the club room is very much the focus here. The energetic opener 'I Should Be In Japan' arrives with semi-sung vocals echoing over sleazy bass and fierce four-four rhythms, before 'PBS (Party & Bullshit)' ups the tempo with jacking drums driving spoken-word sass over a stripped-back topography. Finally, the title track powers over swung house drums, with its magnetic bass hook and looped samples providing the bed for paranoid bleeps and call-to-action vocals.

Review: House music producer, DJ and label owner, Seven Davis Jr brings us his latest, Stranger Than Fiction on his own Secret Angels record label. This full length is the artist's fifth in total and is in the similar vein as Romanthony or perhaps Jus ED. The blend of house heaters, vocals and injecting some soul into the mix, is the ingredients for the recipe. There are killer house bangers like 'Come Back To Life' and 'My Love Is Deep' while some others explore a deeper dubby groove like in 'Stranger Than Fiction' or the Hip-House inspired 'Wanna Find Out'. Plenty here for house fans to enjoy.