Modern Electronic Fantastic-ness

It’s hard for a lot of people to accept a world where a band can exist solely through the use of a computer and a drum machine, which is essentially what English electronic duo Mount Kimbie provided on their first full-length release Crooks & Lovers. With the inclusion of layering in some live instrumentation, that process still very much exists on Kai Campos’s and Dominic Maker’s sophomore album Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, successfully stating that pieces of electronic equipment are undeniably acceptable instruments.

The album contains a relaxing and inventive ambiance and flows so well that the forty-plus minutes of music are not enough. “Home Recording” kicks off the album in this manner, featuring light sounds of percussion, organs and Campos on vocals, a new element not heard on Crooks & Lovers. This vibe is carried throughout all eleven tracks, ending suddenly on the final track “Fall Out,” which, based on the name, fittingly ends abruptly.

The vocal element doesn’t go away after the first track and, in fact, they’re included on most tracks, albeit rather subtly. Campos is heard again on “Blood and Form,” and Mount Kimbie collaborated with the young red-headed English artist King Krule (on “You Took Your Time” and “Meter, Pale, Tone”), who proved to be a fabulous accompaniment with his uniquely thick-accented tenor. You’ll hear Maker’s vocals on the album as well.

Cold Spring Fault Less Youth puts a hard end to any arguments about electronic music being compared unfavorably to full bands whose members are all dedicated to playing one instrument. Mount Kimbie has gone beyond that notion. While the duo pay tribute to the great collaboration with King Krule and drummer Andy Ramsay, and had their record professionally mixed, this is their own unique work of art. And now with the addition of vocals, lyrics and the use of instruments during the recording process and on stage, they have only become more enticing.