Friends Of Friends At Juno Download

Review: For those of you who don't know, Friends Of Friends is a delightful LA-based imprint founded by Lazy Brow and run together with a group of close west coast associates. This time they welcome Nathan Broaddus aka Evenings for his first solo-work on the label after last year's Lately LP on Orchid Tapes. Fourteen ear-splitting, tape-encrusted electronic workouts, and all of them worthy of applause; from the gristly beats and snares of "Friend (Lover)", moving onto disjointed hip-hop influenced breaks of "Lo-Velo", the atmospheric balearica of "Babe"or Evening's tactful use of samples and enchanting atmospherics, the LP has it all and will appeal to anyone with a soft-spot for droned-out, vocal ambient styles. We can't forget the gorgeous sea-swept harmonics of "Goodbye Forever", however, and there's even a few hot remixes to boot - Munno re-touching "Friend" and Shigeto having one hell of a go at turning "Babe" into a minimalistic beat thrash. He comes out pretty darn successful, as you'd imagine...

Review: Alongside fellow West coast brethren such as Sholohmo, Groundislava is bringing forth a plush take on the Californian beat scene ideals, with his own brew favouring rich synths of an 80s persuasion. This particular slant of vintage aesthetic mining is shot through with the woozy detuned charm and melancholia that made acts such as Hype Williams stand out initially. The tempos on his debut album for Friends of Friends shift around while the atmosphere and approach stays joyfully intact, creating a cohesive ride through a romantic sound universe where melody is king and yet there's not one sappy note to be found.

Review: While he might be forging a name for himself in the nascent trap scene, on this return to regular haunt Friends Of Friends LA based producer Salva is embracing the ruff stomp of UK funky and serving up some peak time heat in tracks like "Get A Life". With plenty of hip hop vocal twists and the appropriate amount of hype-inducing samples it should keep his newer fans happy while still bringing something fresh to the table. There's a juke infusion at work on "Hard Drive", except it's fed through a limber, crafty amount of editing and production trickery that maximises the dizzying effect of the manic sample triggering. There's a more old-skool rave flavour at the centre of "Rest in 3-Piece", but still run through the grinder with a mercenary sensibility.