Lone - Reality Testing

Lone
Reality Testing
16 June 2014
R&S

3.5 stars out of 5

 

Nottingham’s Matt Cutler has been doing his thing as Lone since 2007. Reality Testing is his fourth proper studio LP, and it sees him at his most house—and by far his least hip-hop. As such, although there’s nothing here that’s excessively and straightforwardly dancey (bouncy tracks like “Begin to Begin” are the exception rather than the rule), neither is there anything especially challenging. But the album definitely has its moments, and rather than get into a general genre-bashing rant, let’s just move on and discuss the slab of vinyl at hand, shall we?

Cutler’s potential is fulfilled with cuts like “Jaded,” which combine wonky time signatures with classic IDM keyboard motifs. “Vengeance Video” is the kind of thing your parents were probably listening to when they dropped a little too much e and hooked up without a condom in a dark corner of the warehouse to produce you, you little beard-sporting poser shit. So your mom doesn’t even know your dad’s name—big fucking deal. You don’t need to hide your shame behind that ugly growth on your face. Razors are like 20 for $2 at the dollar store, you soy-veined idiot. Finally, “Cutched Under” is the album’s crowning glory: a healthy dose of off-kilter beats and dreamy vocal samples, guaranteed to put a smile on your face and perhaps even a few nods and toe-taps into your morning commute.

While a little less edgy than 2012’s Galaxy Garden, which explored the rave scene of a couple of decades ago, Reality Testing still delivers the goods in a fresh, from-the-harbour-to-your-corner-store-in-a-refrigerated-container fashion. You might find a few prime cuts for sushi here, or maybe even a few live crabs. Or, possibly, you’ve eaten a few too many tabs and those crabs climbing your legs with the intention to clip off your beard with their pincers are just a hallucination, dude.

reviewed by Richard Krueger