Glum, unintentionally surreal sideways pop - flagship Jolly Disc duo RAP (Guy Gormley and Thomas Bush) pull a rabbit out of a hat with 3rd album Navigator. Masterpiece.
It’s always been tricky to put a finger on exactly what the music of RAP sounds like, other than itself. At its core are the rhythms and studio techniques that are extrapolated from UK sound-system culture. Steppers, grime, hammering techno and dub form the building blocks for their own strain of stoned pop rituals. But also that particularly British sense of weltschmerz and the subtle, inevitable malaise of everyday life.
Navigator takes stock of the unavoidable influence of American music, opening up a new dimension to their sound where melodies and basslines lay the foundations for what now are undisputedly songs. Typically aloof and just out of reach, the duo are unassertive - playing up to what on the surface seems somewhat mundane. Although listen closer, the imaginative arrangements are layered heavy with unexpected details. Bush and Gormley’s vocals offset each other well, Bush’s distinctive druid-bard falsetto always enhances Gormley’s more functional detached delivery. Synths hover, guitar notes are left to linger and each track is steeped in its own sense of unease, yet the gentle dread is offset with uncontrollably infectious hooks and double decker Memphis basslines straight out of Lil Noid’s playbook. A strange and rewarding experience caught between triumphs of the past and foreboding of tomorrow’s apocalypse. Best of the year
