Like one of those megamixes from the 90s, there’s a single amorphous rhythm driving through the entire length of Disclosure’s second album Caracal, while multiple personality-scrubbed voices come and go providing little distinction or variety. I swear, on more than five occasions I completely forgot I was listening to the thing, finding myself drifting away and thinking about whether we need to buy toothpaste today or not. Nah, there’s always loads more in the tube than you think. It can wait at least another I DID IT AGAIN!
It’s not as bad as those Jive Bunny records but Christ it’s so dull. Whereas Disclosure’s debut Settle maintained a consistent tempo, seamlessly blending deep house, garage and dubstep to homogeneous effect, it also contained enough well-crafted pop-hooks and some brilliantly chosen collaborators to keep it fresh and interesting, Caracal is instead the insipid background music of a particularly cunty contemporary art gallery or cocktail bar in a four star hotel. Places you should never go to because you will only get judged.
Fortunately the Lorde track is a highlight, purely because her voice stands out from the grey sea of lifeless neo-soul whining. Elsewhere though, The Weeknd (every mainstream producer’s current favourite muse/walking venereal disease) sings “my shadow doesn’t show in the dark” on ‘Nocturnal’ which is a more predatorial way of saying “you know, underneath all these clothes I’m naked.” Sam Smith’s blandly pointless ‘Omen’ is pale shadow of previous collaboration ‘Latch’, Kwabs is given even less to work with than he had on his debut released last week and Miguel’s track ‘Good Intentions’ reminds me of the time that I meant to buy a couple of tubes of toothpaste a few months ago in a ‘buy one get one free offer’ in order to keep us going for a I DID IT AGAIN! Fucking hell, there’s something wrong with me. 2/5
Check out all the latest music releases in our new album reviews section, including Run The Jewels’ Meow the Jewels.
