Nosaj Thing's fourth full-length, Parallels, was much more focused and direct than his other work, which has often been fragmentary and ethereal. After releasing a brief EP followed by ambient expansions of the same material, his fifth album places more of an emphasis on songwriting, with a dozen pop-length tracks featuring a wide variety of guests. Continua kicks off with its title track, a subdued ambient cloud featuring expressive piano playing by Duval Timothy. Regular collaborator Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead) returns ...
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Nosaj Thing's fourth full-length, Parallels, was much more focused and direct than his other work, which has often been fragmentary and ethereal. After releasing a brief EP followed by ambient expansions of the same material, his fifth album places more of an emphasis on songwriting, with a dozen pop-length tracks featuring a wide variety of guests. Continua kicks off with its title track, a subdued ambient cloud featuring expressive piano playing by Duval Timothy. Regular collaborator Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead) returns on "My Soul or Something," a refreshing venture into chilled-out, breakbeat-driven dream pop. "Process," a downtempo gem that chops up sighing vocals by an uncredited singer, is one of the album's loveliest and low-key addictive selections. The tender, slightly surreal "Woodland" features serpentwithfeet at his best, while Julianna Barwick sounds surprisingly radio-friendly on the trip-hop ballad "Blue Hour." A few other major guests seem to be pushed a bit outside of their comfort zones. A somewhat emo-sounding Toro y Moi has a bit more conviction to his voice than usual, while Panda Bear strangely resembles a member of Hot Chip on the wistful, shimmering "All Over." The garage shuffle of the HYUKOH-featuring "We Are" provides a sweet moment of club elevation, though it still feels like it's disguising the album's general mood of downcast self-reflection. Other tracks like the murky "Look Both Ways" (with guest rapper Pink Siifu) and the narcotic drift of "Different Life" (featuring Eyedress) more fully explore this malaise. Still, the gently rolling instrumental "Skyline," which includes gorgeous Jon Hassell-like horns, feels like the sun is poking through the clouds a bit. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi
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