Album of the Week: The Dead Bears – Newworldaquarium

I’ve been digging through my old hard drives for a while now, a few months back I started sorting the music folders. The aim is get rid of all the crap and discover some gold along the way. My memory is patchy, but I think I bought this album when I was living in Manchester and Chris was working at Boomkat. The more I try and access that memory the more clearly I can picture him telling me I needed to buy it.

It was an instant heart warmer, still is today.

Quick notes: Pleasing distortion. Dub techno signature sounds. House kicks. Phasic shuffle style. Haunting keys and melodic sample sprinkles. Some tracks feel like an intermission or passing soundtrack through moments. The build on every track is wonderfully subtle. Kicks are blaring at the front. Delightful panning across the sequencing – I’d savour this on headphones for sure. There is a strong diversity in mood across the album, feels like a journey.

Tracks to concentrate on:

  • Avon Sparkle is a stand out track
  • The Tide You Can’t Feel is dreamy
  • Trespassers is a driving 4/4 banger

Looks like there was a reissue and an adapted red overlay added to the artwork for that. I’m a massive fan of the white original above.

Listen and Buy on Bandcamp


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