Opening song ‘Negative Space’ has that immediate old-school Daft Punk feel, with a robotic vocal laying the beat before MJ’s vocals sweep in like a hurricane, flipping the song on its head.
‘Static Resistance’ is the most punk track on the album, with loud distorted vocals backed by a banging percussion line and entirely contrasted by a perfectly blissful organ. ‘The Soft Season’ takes a deep breathe in, starting with a delicate organ intro and vocals and carries that much of the way through. It feels as though the track is building to something more chaotic but never does, which is a little disappointing.
‘Opener’ follows on directly from that and finally builds towards something more energetic and fun. Unfortunately ‘Each Time We Pass’ slows things down again, and is probably the most repetitive and unimaginative song on the list.
The album closes out with ‘Boxing Day’, an awesome experimental piece, ‘Reunion’, which is really just an interlude, and ‘Shortcomings’, which thanks to strong guitar and percussion, ends on a high.
7/10
