Guy and Howard Lawrence seemed neither truly idle nor underexposed between the 2015 and 2020 arrivals of
Caracal and
Energy, their second and third
Disclosure LPs. Among numerous
Disclosure singles and EPs and commissioned work done separately and together, the brothers earned their fourth and fifth Grammy nominations with the
Fatoumata Diawara-fronted "Ultimatum" and as producers of
Khalid's "Talk" -- the latter a Top Ten hit in the U.K. and U.S. They finished work on
Energy by the end of 2019, issued the prelude
Ecstasy EP the following February, and within a 24-hour period the next month announced and canceled a tour. The COVID-19 pandemic also prompted
Disclosure to delay the release of
Energy until that August, as venues remained closed and the possibility of coordinating gigs with a new album became increasingly slim.
Energy's first track, springy, spangly, and resembling early-aughts
Basement Jaxx, is coincidentally apt for the circumstances, with
Kelis demanding distance and enthusing about dancing in solitude. Its finale, featuring
Common -- essentially playing the role his father has filled on his own albums -- is suited for the times in a more general sense, entailing a megamix of positive poetic aphorisms over the Lawrences' rippling drums. That these two songs and the rest take the shape of a coherent and concise LP is a feat in itself, given that it constitutes roughly six-percent of what the Lawrences created during their Los Angeles and London recording sessions. The producers averted artistic option paralysis by favoring the tracks that required the least amount of labor, and their selections neatly snap together. There are two clear-cut highlights. The loping and gleaming "Lavender," a meeting with brash
Channel Tres, and the atmospheric garage scuttler "Who Knew?," featuring
Mick Jenkins in wholehearted singer mode, have enough homing power to illuminate Club Lonely. ~ Andy Kellman