Star-Lo is well outside the range of my radar (being quite light in feel), but it's instantly obvious that Ubin have meticulously crafted one of the best-sounding electronic releases of the last 12months. I longed for something a bit harder, I'll admit it, but with the exception of a couple of saccharine pop attempts, I warmed to the eclectic nature of Star-Lo. I can't do the high-energy cheese even though I know it's slick and humorous in that 80s-influenced trashy kind of way. Instead I'm diggin the atmospheric tunes like the brilliant opener Redroom; and the jazzy tracks like Biseaux. The pioneering feature of Star-Lo is the influence of glitch on this duo and the effect it has when applied in a more approachable way than the traditional teeth-grinding version; like manic rhythms that make sense after repetition and actually have some bass. Personally, Summertime gets my vote as the standout track and that may have a lot to do with some digestible vocals that don't go over the top. Star-Lo is one of those albums that you love with the exception of a couple of tracks you loathe. Having said that, 11 out of 13 ain't a bad score.

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Tracklisting

Full listing of UBIN releases