NMT: Simian Mobile Disco's 'Delicacies'

This is the third studio album from the UK based electronica band and it definitely sets it self apart from the previous two electronic pop albums. This is sans-singing electronic album that sounds it best at loud volumes on headphones.

What you can take from the name and the names of the tracks is that this may have something to do with food, seeing as each track is named after some form of edible that at least some culture in the world would deem a 'delicacy'. Seeing that and keeping track of my foods as the album plots along let me really feel how these pieces all seemed to be composed with that particular dish in mind. Now without lyrics, how would you do that?

Well with track one "Aspic", the beat has a noticeably bouncy quality. I know. A bouncy beat and that is easy to bob ones head to. That sounds like electronica. True, but its particular bouncy-ness adds a bit of wiggle with some of the more interesting synth effects used. This only lead me to look up/remember what exactly aspic is. A gelatinous meat-salad of sorts. Needless to say, I laughed a bit and it only made me appreciate it even more.

The rest of the tracks follow this same sort of concept. If you pay attention to the title and keep mind of it, you'll be able to come to your own conclusions on how you see the dish in mind exemplified within the music. These are sonically interesting and full sounding and have no lack of thumping bass, thus this album shouldn't turn off old fans too much, though I could see how the lack of a more easy to pick out pop song could distract some listeners. It is definitely album thats more rewarding with the more thought you put into it, unlike many musical peers of the artist duo.

As far as the instrumentation goes, it is still as aggressive and dark as most of their previous work, just minus the pop-song structuring. Taking away the voices has allowed them to explore more as electronic artists and this is what Delicacies really is. An electronic music concept album thats succeeding at getting you to bob your head while simultaneously allowing them to explore their own artistic thoughts without having the pressure of delivering a new club hit like "Hustler".

But they aren't one to go down with an album that doesn't have something that is immediately applicable to playing in front of the wanting crowd, so the second disc (51 minute long 9th track on digital download) is a mix of Delicacies prepared properly for mass consumption.

Simian Mobile Disco - Delicacies -> 4.1/5

If you're interested in an... interesting video of theirs, watch this. Though if you're a vegetarian, you would probably prefer to not watch. It has one of those "I want to stop watching, but I keep watching for some reason" vibe. So yes, its a bit creepy and probably not safe for work unless you want some judgmental looks.