The Knocks & Skylar Spence - Amelia Airhorn

The Knocks & Skylar Spence
Amelia Airhorn
2017
Soundcloud

Half mixtape, half collaborative album but 100% all disco The Knocks and Skylar Spence present their love letter to New York City Nightlife Amelia Airhorn. Amelia is your guide through the twists and turns of an interesting night. The Knocks are no strangers to dance history exploration with their mixtape from last year "Flashlight & Explosions" which chronicled the Bloghaus movement in 2007. Amelia Airhorn however plays more like one long track even though it can be split up. The story is part of the experience and the experience requires you to be invested the entire time. Disco is front and center, with many of the samples coming straight from it's golden era. It is unabashedly bright, hopeful and filled with joy. Even the Jay-Z verse around 9:30 is cocky yet honest. The Knocks and Skylar Spence also put this album out 100% free. That means no spotify, no Apple Music but the Knocks are able to do whatever they damn well please which means the art is at such a high level. It's no coincidence this came out just as summer approaches it is the perfect accompaniment to any party from cookout to late night dance off. This music is about movement and people, then connecting the two into this magical harmony of spirit. Lofty goals for dance music, but ones The Knocks and Spence achieve effortlessly.

The music is also so damn positive, in a world where so much is wrong and so much sucks Amelia Airhorn always looks at the brightside. "New York is Red Hot!" is chanted by the crowd during the song by the same name and it is this joyous response to a heat wave in New York. Things look bleak for a moment with some sampled News Clips about crime and blight, but that emotion descends into a parade and party rapidly. The concept for the record comes through so vividly, you know who you are with and where you are going even if the path takes some different turns than expected. Even the drug taking piece has this sort of wiggly vibe to it. The internet age comes around with a chopped up deep youtube video over a flowing electronic soul groove. This record has to have The Avalanches and DJ Shadow better watch out because if Amelia Airhorn keeps pumping out shit as good as this, they will have some major competition. Let's hope she flies into a town near you soon, We all need a good dance.

8.7 out of 10