Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Disclosure
Label: Island Records
Release date: 03.06.2013
Length: 61:05
Rating: 4/5
Disclosure is an electronic duo made up of two brothers who have barely hit adulthood: Guy and Edward Lawrence. Formed three years ago, the duo already has a deal with Island Records in its pocket. Bravo. The foundation is electronics, leaning mostly on post-dubstep modernist figures in its rhythmic loops. Digging through the nineties, when deep house and dubstep arrived on the scene, has clearly become the fashionable thing to do in England.
The duo is incredibly good at this revival. They really do make music totally unburdened, coming into contact with the sounds of the past through computer software, without actually realizing they’re using the retro sonics of the collages they glue together. It’s an interesting phenomenon, typical these days of acts who are dewy-young going by their members’ birth certificates. There isn’t much time to dig through music history, and the distinctiveness and artistic tangibility of what you create can only come from a talent that has to be handed to you in the cradle. And with their debut, Disclosure prove they carry a refined sense of tasteful arrangement. So it’s a natural gift, and the Lawrence brothers have it in abundance. A feel for the middle ground between melodically infectious sweetness and pushy motif repetition on one side and rich rhythmic definition on the other, all wrapped in a blanket of that particular soothing, melancholic wistfulness whenever we take our cues from captured moods, comes across as typically British.
The clever stacking of instrumental collages is nicely shaken up by the occasional addition of vivid vocal-line samples, which of course serve to color the compositions and break up the monotonous figures that come with the occasional repetition of motifs. That could have become annoying, but »Settle« steers clear of the danger the whole way through. And that’s over a good hour of music. The female guest vocal samples take the lead, and they’re especially good at providing the desired contrast to the sonic manipulation that builds the instrumental base. It’s worth stressing that the duo doses certain motifs very cunningly, adding software samples as ornaments. Whatever the track, they manage to ramp up the tension in the mood as the songs develop. That effective contrast is already there in the opening stretch, where the in-your-face, direct When the Fire Starts To Burn gives way to a relaxed, dreamy, sugary soul shift in atmosphere on Latch. That track is a prime example of excellent atmospheric blending of warmth and that gentle bitterness of melancholy, the way British Isles dubstep knows it.
The instrumental backdrop is woven together in a minimalist, relaxed way, without a hint of overcomplication or rough sonic structures. Delicate synth veils create a floating background of soundscape, which gives the record a touch of the transcendental. This works especially well in coloring White Noise, where Aluna George’s distinctive, sweetly infectious vocal lends the track a special expressive quality.
As said: the repetition of motif figures and rhythmic kinetics never overpowers the floating, almost transcendental landscape of »synth« veils, and »Settle« never forces itself on the listener with the kind of pushy invasiveness driven by an artificial hunger for success. That’s why it flirts with the gains of the UK garage phenomenon and comes across as alternative rather than commercially minded at heart. The success came fairly unexpectedly, and the boys weren’t chasing it. All they did was put out an album and music the way their hearts told them to. So this is an authentic record and a welcome breath of fresh air for the scene, as modern electronic music knows it. At the same time, this album hints at a possible future for this kind of music from the British Isles, one that successfully translates »UK garage« into the present.
Lineup
Guy Lawrence – programming
Howard Lawrence – programming, vocals
Production
Disclosure
Track list
01 Intro
02 When a Fire Starts to Burn
03 Latch [ft. Sam Smith]
04 F for You
05 White Noise [ft. AlunaGeorge]
06 Defeated No More [ft. Ed Mac]
07 Voices [ft. Sasha Keable]
08 Second Chance
09 You & Me [ft. Eliza Doolittle]
10 January [ft. Jamie Woon]
11 Confess to Me [ft. Jessie Ware]
12 Help Me Lose My Mind [ft. London Grammar]
