James Hinton, the producer known as
the Range, builds vibrant, kinetic dance tunes from vocal samples typically found on YouTube or other online media outlets.
Mercury (2022) is the follow-up to his 2016 effort
Potential, and during the six-year gap in between releases, Hinton moved from Brooklyn to a remote locale in the mountains of Vermont, where he sometimes went a month without encountering another human. While removing himself from city life helped him focus on his work, the isolation caused him to spiral into depression for two years. Ultimately, making music seems to be a redemptive process for Hinton, and it helps him express his feelings in ways that he might not be able to in real life due to social anxiety. Sampling vocals that resonate with him, he gravitates toward lyrics that plead, from bitter accusations ("Ricercar") to cries for forgiveness ("Not for Me"). "Urethane" incorporates verses from grime emcee MIK that struck a particular chord with him during his period of seclusion: "Last year man got left in the dark/Cause man didn't really have nothing to say." While it's easy to compare Hinton's vocal repurposing to that of
Burial, the overall moods and atmospheres are much different, even if both artists are heavily influenced by similar styles and eras of U.K. dance music. Hinton favors wide, sunny synth chords and punchy, choppy breakbeats, and his vocal samples aren't as obscured behind pitch-shifting and other effects. The heartache and emotional displacement is easily felt through the sampled vocals, but there's still a euphoric rush to Hinton's synth melodies and dance beats. The album has no shortage of dramatic moments, from the heavy-hearted nostalgia of "1995" to the downtrodden U.K. garage swing of "Not for Me." However, the anthemic, breakbeat-driven conclusion "Violet" unmistakably carries a message of hope and perseverance.
Mercury cuts to a deeper emotional core than
the Range's previous work, and it's easily the producer's most successful release to date. ~ Paul Simpson