The Devil's Hard Drive

The perfect album for Summer 2010!

     

I've listened to this album several times since buying it, and it's brimming with warmth and craft. There's a seamless combination of acoustic and electronica, with (what sounds like) toy pianos, acoustic guitars and orchestral bursts - but even the glitchy elements have an incredibly organic, emotive, and human feel.

You almost don't notice the use of such juxtaposed sounds (which is never more prominent than between 'Aspartamene Flow' and '8Bitches Brew') because the songwriting and structure of the album is so strong - and makes it difficult to press the 'stop' button. The tracks saunter together in a way which evokes Pink Floyd or The Beatles.

It's also an album which sounds like a very personal portrait of London, sprinkled with sampled sounds such as the London Underground announcement at the beginning of the charmingly oom-pah-pah 'Shaolin Score'.

But it's the timeless, Brian Wilson-esque melodies which make this such a compelling listen. It's the culmination of what's been hinted at in previous Unseenmachine releases - though in the yearningly bluesy 'Strawberry Byte', we hear yet another genre embodied by this intriguing outfit.

Consummate proof that The Devil really does have the best tunes.