Various Significant Elf Proclivity Ambivalent (UK)

London-based Ambivalent Records has, on its third CD release, fallen into a well-defined and awesome style. Its postmodern UK flavour has matured into a deliciously tasty chunk of creamy goodness, and Significant Elf Proclivity is possibly the best album to come out of London this year. Kicking of with Floor Assignment’s Enter Domestos, it’s a scary intro leading to a chuggy bassline with a clean, nonchalant groove that combines dark and light in truly visionary style in keeping with the new UK trance sound. Deviant Species offer up a new mix of Balojax, wonderfully produced with a killer groove and a nice nod to “proper” techno. Oxygen from shift slips in with its high-octane, amyl nitrate rocket fuel sound and totally lifts you away… lysergic shitkicking stuff that takes no prisoners. The Harbringers Of Doom bring in hard house with Thwack, more evil stuff that’s destined to tear up the Rex, and Scorb’s Lunaris brought a tear to my eye… more energy than should be allowed by law, a huge peak and a perfect balance of everything. Neural Rectifier Syndrome’s wonderfully-named Bizarre Gardening Incident is a fast bit of dramamine trance, and Deviant Species’ Lapa Incordio is a huge 16th bassline with a fleet of locusts wizzing about over the top. Shift pop back again with Freakem, which is utter genocide. It’s evil and it’ll send you crazy, with a huge rising quality to it that sounds like the angry spirits of a thousand tortured souls, that for some reason are rather annoyed at you. Yum. To top it off, Goon from Unsound System is a huge, huge psychedelic anthem-in-waiting with a huge squeaky breakdown and a groove that’ll make buildings collapse. Looks like London’s swinging again.

More info: www.ambivalentrecords.com