A dark cloud hangs over Alex Banks’ ‘Illuminate’. But it is one that has been pumped out purposefully by the muscular machinations of a precocious newcomer.
The result of two years of head-down studio time, the Brighton-based producer has laced this debut with heart-racing drums that trip over each other and dark-hued synth rollers. And this techno heft provides an unlikely yet oddly compatible backdrop to the soaring vocals of Gazelle Twin’s Elizabeth Bernholz.
Don’t trust this writer’s words; trust the fact that Monkeytown’s Gernot and Szary offered Banks a three-record deal simply after listening to the demo.
8/10
Words: Felicity Martin
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Related: read an interview with Alex Banks
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Listen to ‘Illuminate’ in full via Deezer, below…