Hydrogen Jukebox

Album Review : Jamie Lidell - 'Compass'

Beneath the towering amass of hype - critical acclaim, signing to revered experimental label Warp Records, preliminary recording sessions in Beck’s LA studio and album credits which read like a who’s who of celebrated US indie artists including Pat Sansone of Wilco, Beck, Fiest, Chilly Gonzales and Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear..... , ‘Compass’ is a good record, with some stand-out moments.

‘Completely Exposed’ starts in typical Warp fashion with Fly Lo-esque unquantized percussive cross rhythms before the vocals, from the Sam Sparro school of ‘psuedo-soul’, kick in. The chorus tries to demonstrate vocal virtuosity, meanwhile the arpegiated synths continuously conjure a dream-like atmosphere. ‘Completely Exposed’ combines both Kid A and crowd pleasing sensibilities- it’s a promising opener. ‘Your Sweet Boom’ is cluttered and disjointed, -and to great effect; the vocal’s, which are soaked in all number of compression and distortion effects, blend seamlessly with the production and create a similar ambiance to Lidell’s Warp contemporary ‘Gonjasufi’. To the age old question ‘Can white men sing Soul Music?’ ...the answer is, well, yes! On ‘She Needs Me’, his vocal performance is tender and powerful. The song itself is 6 minuets of unstructured, yet commercial sounding, musical nonsense with repeats of the song title- ‘She Needs Me’, over xylophones’, bells and funky bass. Besides having a wonderful Stooges alluding title, ‘I wanna be your Telephone’, combines much of the mid-range, bright, pitch shifted synth timbres, unusual percussive rhythms and 8 bit bleeps currently associated with the Wonk or Post Dubstep movement, and alongside this he entwines a funky disco feel. ‘Enough’s Enough’ is reminiscent of early Stevie Wonder, even managing to create a similar rich vocal timbre. Lidell interweaves Tamla Motown and Funk with contemporary experimental electronic styles, and to great effect. At times the record is overpowering and chaotic - and could do with a paring down of unnecessary production details, but it’s this same chaotic elements, that make the record such a great listen.