New Release Tuesday: Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid

Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid NYC (Domino)

Four Tet/Fridge mastermind Kieran Hebden and legendary jazz drummer Steve Reid might seem like an unlikely duo, but one listen to their new album demonstrates their musical kinship. NYC is a six song love letter to the capital of the world, focused on the city's energy, moods and sounds. Recorded at Avatar studios (a place that's seen the likes of Miles Davis and Steve Reich) in Hells Kitchen, the album continues down the path Hebden and Reid have begun paving with earlier works, marrying glitchy electronica and noise with the uncompromising sound of jazz percussion. Like their previous efforts, NYC is a bit of a knotty, complicated record. The arrangements are dense and layered between guitar, piano, noise, synths and samples, and their relationship to the rhythm is sometimes obtuse. This is far from criticism: each piece demands your full attention and never takes itself too seriously - any of these songs would be electric on the dancefloor. The songs sound less open-ended than older tunes, perhaps because the duo have had so much time on the road to test-run things. The album's unavoidable star is Reid, setting a standard for tone and innovation in drumming that will most likely not be matched this year.

Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid [Official] [MySpace]

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