Andy Stott - Too Many Voices

Andy Stott
Too Many Voices
2016
Google Play

Too Many Voices is an album that is on the verge. It is on the verge of something airy something almost ethereal, but there is always this clawing darkness that pulls that sense back grounding the record in bass. The super dark overtones that populated Andy Stott's previous album have given way to something brighter almost light. This is best exemplified on "Butterflies" which has a haunting vocal that lifts the track off the earth. It seems like Stott has found a new direction but not one that alienates his past but rather pays homage then moves it forward. "New Romantic" actually has a very danceable beat and despite it's distorted sounds is one of the more approachable songs on the record. Yet that backbone of grime still hangs around, maybe it is a bassline or some kind of weighty drum drop but it is always there just lingering in the background perhaps looking on to what Stott has become. Five years is a long time between albums, but it also means an artist can do a lot of growing and a lot of changing. When "First Night" comes in it effectively sucks every bit of oxygen out of the room creating this vacuum where you thought any space might exist. The little synth run in the middle of all this only adds to the distant airless quality of the album, it is in a word: intense.

There does not seem to be anything missing in what Stott is doing, but there is something just a bit off. It could be the pull of two worlds dragging him in two directions but there are times especially in the middle of the album where songs exist but don't really go anywhere. If a track is going to be directionless it needs to be something really incredible and that just is not here on this particular album. "Forgotten" wilts away from a place that it never really arrived. You are begging for something more, perhaps a bit up tempo or a strong vocal to round it out, but that moment never comes. Minimal can often mean something really dialed in, but the minimal aspects of this record feel minimal just for minimal's sake. The super glitch that is the track "Selfish" keeps you totally off balance and is one of the real surprises. As the rest of the record progresses you get the sense that you understand what Stott's is trying to say and really you are ready to move forward. However Stott holds tight and hangs on to this music not offering much in terms of variety. The album ends on a bit of a whimper fading into obscurity despite it's highly technical and highly charged composition. This is a change for Stott and not all change is pretty, it is what comes next that we really have to watch out for.

6.9 out of 10