A hazy and laidback opener, Nights Introlude is all about creating the right atmosphere for the album, and it broadly succeeds. Sounding like DJ Shadow but with a bit less urgency, NOW enjoy creating intriguing and vivid soundscapes, with every note fully thought out. Pipes Honour encapsulates that, with the rounded guitar sitting alongside the sharp snap of the percussion. Groove St. has an ice cold snare and subtle bassline, with some great vocal samples from Gil Scott Heron. Cruise (Don't Stop) sounds like a car playing disco driving off into the distance as the sun sets - certainly a pleasant image to be left with.
In terms of studio mastery, the album is hugely impressive, with production values that are off the chart. Everything is well defined, and it is an album that sounds significantly better on better equipment - a great hifi tester. Whilst that doesn't mean it is great in itself, it is nice to hear an album that justifies the ongoing purchases of increasingly expensive speakers.
The album works for both background listening and more focussed sessions, although the latter can descend into the former on occasion. On that basis I enjoyed the album, without ever being fully blown away by it. It promises a lot, and possibly with a longer listening period it would have stepped up to an even higher score, but often I felt it was a bit too cool to enjoy as much as I'd hoped.
Chloe's album rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 4. Me and You
Olly's album rating: 7
Olly's favourite track: 3. Pipes Honour
Next week is 561. Suzanne Vega by Suzanne Vega.
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