Vicissitude
Mute Records
Electronic music has grown on me in the last few years. Moving away from the ideology that it wasn’t ‘real’ music and instead realizing its endless potential as yet another tool at a musician’s disposal, the genre can be hit-and-miss for numerous artists.
For James Chapman (Maps), his 2007 debut LP, We Can Create, produced numerous singles that resulted in waves of pleasing reviews. The album was soon nominated for a Mercury Prize and Maps was set to take off. However, Chapman’s second LP failed to live up to the hype, and unfortunately his third LP, Vicissitude, has continued the downward trend.
The 10-track LP runs for 54 minutes and feels like drag. It’s uneventful, repetitive and lacks creativity. The opening track, A.M.A, is the only real head-bopper, featuring radio-friendly robotic grooves that unfortunately would do nothing for a live crowd. Tracks like Nicholas and You Will Find A Way have lengthy running times and honestly could cure insomnia. The LP picks up slightly towards the end, but overall fails to leave a strong impression.
AARON BRYANS
