This one came in under the radar for me. In the initial announcement from Warp, it was somewhere in the middle of the list, and since it wasn’t immediately identified as the new Chris Clark record (apparently he’s just going by his surname now), I didn’t take notice.
The lack of a huge promotional push could be interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm for the record, and the initial reviews were a bit lackluster, claiming the record was somewhat dull and monochromatic.
On first listen, I was inclined to agree. There’s nothing here approaching the hell-on-wheels ecstacy of the first album (“Proper Lofi” and “Diesel Raven” were absolutely exhilirating, even if the record had some real mis-steps), nor does it have the restless surrealism that made Empty the Bones of You so compelling.
In fact, the record starts on a very sedate note with “Herr Bar,” loping along to a typical sullen-but-woozy Chris Clark melody but featuring little in the way of development. Continued...