Australia's Blue Mountains region seems an unlikely place for the future of electronic pop music, but maybe it actually makes sense. The unusual sandstone formations, the gorgeous eucalyptus forests, the mysterious blue haze and the ancient aboriginal relics all seem like potential inspiration for the kind of unique mix of musical elements that characterize the sounds that hometown duo Hermitude produce, as exemplified on their latest album, Dark Night Sweet Light.
Post-Dilla hip-hop beats bind progressive, almost-jazz-like structures, smooth electro-soul touches, classic Latin and reggae-tinged world-beat rhythms, percussive vocal drops and heavy bass thumps and buzzes into a crowd-pleasing mix (and a critical one as well, as the album has been getting rave reviews in their homeland and elsewhere). And they're hardly rookies, having made records since the early '00s, with their previous album, HyperParadise, winning the Australian Music Prize for best album. But with Dark Night Sweet Light (already a #1 hit in Australia), Hermitude seem to have taken another step forward, sure to make their Blue Mountains friends and family very proud.
-Eric J. Lawrence
Tracklist:
1. Hijinx
2. Throught The Roof (Feat. Young Tapz)
3. Ukiyo
4. Searchlight (feat. Yeo)
5. Bermuda Bay
6. Hazy Love (feat. Chloe Kaul)
7. The Buzz (feat. Mataya & Young Tapz)
8. Metropolis
9. Midnight Terrain
10. Shift
11. Searchlight Reprise (feat. Yeo)
12. Ukiyo (feat. Pell)
13. Hazy Love (feat Estelle) (Bonus Track)
14. The Buzz (feat. Big K.R.I.T., Mataya & Young Tapz)
15. Hijinx (feat. Chuck Inglish)
16. The Buzz (Alison Wonderland Remix feat. Mataya & Hodgy Beats) (Bonus Track)