Secret Meeting score: 78

by Joseph Purcell

After triumphantly returning with the exquisite stand-alone single Sex Music earlier in 2018, Geoff Barrow and Billy Fuller are back under the Beak> moniker, joined by newbie, Will Young, on >>> – an album that exudes the signature Krautrock and electronica fusion that the Bristol trio have become synonymous with. And across the new LP, they have concocted a suffocating blur of tracks that bristle and burst with sharp, exuberant melody and minimalistic, yet danceable grooves.

From its thundering opening, >>> hardly pauses for breath. The Brazilian radiates with a flirtatious, funk filled bass line, and despite being vocal free is exceptionally catchy.

Underpinned by motorik drums, Brean Down feels perfectly pitched to play the part as a horror film score, or slot onto The Coral’s Nightfreak and The Sons of Becker, before paving the way for a vocal and guitar sound reminiscent of Beck at his understated finest. While the bleeding, murky synths of Birthday Suit, which is jammed with punchy submerging vocals, ensure an imprint on the listener long after the track has concluded.

Alle Sauvage and its pulsing crescendo is further cause for delight, before the staggering quality of closer, When We Fall, evokes memories of In Rainbows-era Radiohead and The Beta Band’s Three EPs, and is completed by a shimmering, lo-fi Elliot Smith-esque vocal. A marvellous, transcendent end to an album of disorientating majesty.

Want to keep up to date with all our latest pieces? Follow us on social media…