Bicep "Isles" - Review

 

Bicep, the Northern Irish electronic duo, came to me when I saw them at Primavera Sounds festival in Porto some years ago. Typically, they aren't my style of music, although I've been listening to more and more electronic instrumental music. 

I would say that Bicep are very different from the typical "raves music" or the acid techno. Their sound is very very clean, you can listen to every different timbre, they don't overlap each other (like some of their contemporaries sometimes do).The riffs are mysterious, with a lot of keyboard work and a lot of songwriting, lots of melodies. Again, however there are really a lot of different sounds at the same time, they don't mash in a bad way, they mix in a very good way. You can hear every melody, you don't just hear noise. And, their trademark, and probably my favourite thing about their music, they have really strong background bass (check their most famous song, "Just"). Some of their songs evolve around the hard bass, and although they have high riffs, it's the bass that you search for. 

They just released their second album "Isles", it reached #2 on the UK charts (which is an extraordinary result for this kind of music) and it is facing very positive critical acclaim. 

The album is very direct in their style. Everything that I wrote above, sums on the album. Beautiful keyboards, a lot of melodies, very clean, all sounds very separate from each other.

The best track is "X". I choose it because of the bass. They are amazing, very very aggressive and strong. It's the perfect background for its industrial riffs. The singer gives a soft feel to it, but, again, the bass does everything, gives soul and personality to the song. It's the perfect example way I like the duo.

Then, you have very chill ambient moments, like "Sundial" or "Lido" which are perfect for a gin tonic near the sea. Simples and spacious. "Rever" and "Fir" are for some harder long nights. "Saku" is a bit more poppy, but it is also one of the best moments of the album. Funny, I said that Rever and Fir are for long nights, "Saku" is for a long long afternoon on the beach. The first 3 songs of the album are also not so aggressive, a bit commercial too. Songs that make Bicep opened to a wider audience, and thank God for that. 

As an overall, this album is perfect to be played almost in any time of the day. It give you energy in the morning, it relax you in the afternoon, making it the perfect company for a drink and makes you dance at night.  Bicep are probably the most interesting and innovating scene on electronic music these days.

7/10