Albums

Album Review: Renfro

[Album: Mathematics]
[Label: Meltwater Records]

I’m sure many of you by now must be familiar with the unmasked Dubstep prodigy of Burial, aka Will Bevan, and I’m also very sure all of you are familiar with the name Thom Yorke. However, I doubt you’d ever thought of a scenario where the talents of the two men are combined in a sonic oblivion of manually-recorded field samples, finely tuned synth leads, and minimal bass backed up by one of the most atmospheric voices I’ve ever heard.

Renfro, first and foremost, is a concept but a serious one, not a jib-jab Gorillaz-esque kamikaze prod at the music industry. A duo project of such originality and purpose that even Damon Albarn will have wished he’d of thought of the idea, he could even have got normal-challenged Alex James to sing, if he’d have had even the slightest luck in being able to capture some of the amazing samples that Tom Branney and Atom-James Draper have managed.

Droning into the opening, first track ‘Half-Life Happiness’ is a 5-minute rendition of what the Battle of Stalingrad must have felt like whilst permanently shell-shocked. The London/Devon pair begin to take you on a 55-minute journey through several dimensions, scores of solar systems and millions of worlds until your psyche has been turned upside down and inside out more times than Michael Phelps has won Olympic Gold Medals. Okay that was quite a poor analogy, but I hope you’re starting to get a picture of how different this sound begins to make you feel. And don’t suddenly think that just because this album is slow, electronic and revolutionary, I’m saying it suddenly makes it the godsend of euphoria. Believe me, when I say, this album is something just a little bit special. Think of how millions of people felt when they found out Portishead were to release a new album or when Radiohead were releasing one of their best albums for potentially a fecking penny, that’s how I feel every time I listen to a track from this debut.

Up next for me is the highlight of the entire long-play - ‘Broken Little Pieces’, for me, is one of the best tracks of the year. “Just looking at the ice won’t make it melt/swimming in the river won’t reach the sea.” It has the atmospheric feel of Burial’s ‘Endorphin’ and the sheer class of Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’, but what makes it totally approachable by anyone is it’s melancholy easy-going nature.

‘Terrain’ is probably one of the weakest songs on the LP. It’s soft and mellow but poses no real clout, and the beat doesn’t punch through your senses like a sonic boom. Electronic dreams can take many forms, either your flying high with ‘Acid Children’ or down-low and dirty with ‘Les Artists’; if you try and attempt both at once you’ll come out sounding like Moby post-’Porcelain’. ‘Telescope’ is an improvement, but if you try and squint deeper there’s nothing of lyrical or musical purpose that jumps out of the ordinary. However, don’t think that just because one song was weak and the next mediocre suddenly makes it Le Grande flop of the year. I mean, just because Starbucks gives you the choice of caffeine in seven thousand different ways doesn’t make it inhumane or even remotely uninteresting. ‘Capture’ is pure minimalist pop laid on top of one of the simplest drum beats ever created, with lyrics that could only rival Coldplay in utter blandness.

The album doesn’t start to gather it’s real pace until the middle when the distorted, heavenly odyssey of ‘Illuminations’ broadly strolls into your ears, encased in a cathedral-like chasm of peaceful melodies and repetitive looping vocals that picks up at around the two-minute mark and takes you deeper into a new sound. On the plus side what you do get with Renfro, that you don’t with Burial and Radiohead, is the feeling that your mother isn’t suddenly going to start listening to them because she thinks they’re the new hip thing. It seems they’ve gathered themselves quite a niche audience from all backgrounds that would create an amazing atmosphere live.

Moving into the second part of the album ‘Add/Subtract’ gives you the feeling that you’ve travelled across the entire breadth of Africa in a whole five and a half minutes. “Born again, from the mouth of the sun” - some of the samples being used here are mesmerising. I swear I can hear the croaking of crickets laid into an echo chamber; like a jungle sounds album without the realisation you’ve suddenly become obsessed with what your dreams mean. ‘Planting Flags’ is just as good. I don’t want to start the cliché of this being suddenly the best wind-down album around at the moment, but it certainly seems to pull you away from reality, alienating you from true existence.

The close of the album, however, I wasn’t as such disappointed with but I just think I’m the sort of person who couldn’t listen to this genre of music for too long. I’m for quick releases followed by jumping back to the rat-race. I feel if I’d listened to this album too much then I’d miss something important, but maybe that’s what the real beauty of this piece is about. ‘Mathematics’ demands your patience and time.

Just because I don’t feel the tranquillity of ninth track ‘Map Of Missing Things’ and album closer ‘Tracer’ (they cannot be processed by my cranium well enough to appreciate them duly) doesn’t mean you couldn’t. Personally I think this is the most unique album I’ve heard this year, and I urge, nay command you to immerse yourself into it.

For Fans Of: Burial, Radiohead, Enya, Bjork

Band Link:
Renfro

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