- We're living in a post-James Blake world of electronic music; Shelter Point's Forever for Now proves it. The debut from a young UK two-piece, it doesn't so much herald inventive new artists than competent followers willing to work firmly within Blake's blueprint. After all, with Blake's collaborators Mount Kimbie now on Warp, Hotflush have to find something to replace them, right?
What's so disarming about "Braille" is just how much it sounds like Blake, from the arch but vulnerable vocals to the makeshift beat and queasy synths. It's all done very professionally, but the nagging feeling that you've heard the muted organ and gasping synths before is too distracting to take the track on its own terms. The title track, on the other hand, is a dead-ringer for Mount Kimbie, right down to the industrial-lite popping sounds of that band's "Vertical" and the pitchbent vocals.
To give the duo some credit, their melodies are strong, and they stick—particularly on the mantra-like "Hold On Me." When that song breaks into a trap-friendly snare rush halfway through, it's a genuinely surprising moment on an EP that otherwise seems tracked on the rails of precedent. Things end with the similarly hip-hop indebted "Sleep Easy," based on the same chords but now with one of our heroes valiantly attempting a full-throated R&B vocal. R. Kelly he's not, and Icarus' wings come out looking a bit singed here, but at least they're trying. Which is more than you can say for the other half of this EP.
Tracklist A1 Braille
A2 Forever for Now
B1 Hold on Me
B2 Sleep Easy