Belfast-bred duo
Bicep initially made an impact on the dance music world by posting a wide variety of tracks, mixes, and edits on their blog, encompassing styles such as Detroit techno, Italo-disco, house, and jungle. Perhaps it's no surprise that their DJ sets and original tracks incorporate a wide-ranging blend of genres, exhibiting a vast knowledge of music history that only seems possible in the age of high-speed Internet access, where young music fans can learn about all the foundational classics and obscure cratedigger favorites without having to spend a lifetime slugging it out in the music scene.
Bicep's long-awaited debut full-length follows acclaimed singles like "Just" and "Dahlia," distilling elements such as cosmic synth arpeggios, early IDM synth melodies, crunchy breakbeats, and trance euphoria into their own brand of dreamy, dramatic floor-fillers. Of course, distinctions between styles often become arbitrary and meaningless in the hands of talented selectors who can draw the necessary emotional impact from seemingly disparate sources, and
Bicep have a keen grasp on what makes their music work. They tend to go for steady repetition of bright, shimmering mirrorball synth sequences and upfront beats, building up to gripping, emotional climaxes and lingering a bit until the track ends. None of the tracks have full lyrics; instead, they capture fragments of vocals and wring out as much drama as possible. "Glue" features a mysterious time-stretched sample atop a swinging garage beat and gloomy synth pads, eventually settling upon the echo-shrouded phrase "...and I'm alone." The most direct track is "Vale," which revolves around a yearning R&B vocal that returns to the line "You know that I'm gonna leave you, yeah." "Kites" is a galloping, shimmering piece of electro, while the chilled-out "Ayaya" is like early
Autechre or
B12 on a tropical island. "Rain" surrounds a Bollywood-sounding vocal sample with clanging, flanged beats and distraught, trancey synths. "Ayr" slows the tempo down to a crawl, but subtle breaks crunch away underneath and fizzy arpeggios bubble upwards.
Bicep's debut album essentially delivers what fans have come to expect; for newcomers, the duo revisits some of the more open-hearted elements of '90s dance music without succumbing to the period's cheesiest trappings. ~ Paul Simpson