Booka Shade - Cut the Strings

Booka Shade
Cut the Strings
2018
Spotify

Going on a deep electronica dive is always a good time. German duo Booka Shade have released this new record Cut the Strings that transports you on this atmospheric journey through dance. Dance beats tend to take center stage on this record, but they are surrounded by this soundscape vibe that takes you on an absolute journey. They don't do much to evolve out of the trance heard space, but they don't really need to either. The vibe is so locked in and beautiful that you just want to sit in this space and blast away. This album is welcome bit of relief in the electronic space because it feels so natural and easy. They aren't making a grand statement, they aren't trying to reinvent the wheel they are just putting amazing beats on the floor and getting your ass moving. "Kolibri" is a great example of a pure and simple great trance song. The percussion drives the whole thing as it shifts and bends throughout it's run time. Cut the Strings finds this great little pocket to get into and then just digs in deep. For the most part they stick to tracks without vocals only sprinkling in a few voices here and there. The title track however is a full on song with a singer and it really is the weakest spot on the whole thing. It just feels not only pedestrian but actually kind of bad. The song sticks out and has almost nothing to do with the rest of the record. The album makes you feel like you are in some future rave and this song sort of floats in like a pop track to burst your bubble.

It's the glitchy heavily techno tracks that feel the most full. The entire record is a fully enjoyable experience but not one that really moves the needle in terms of being inventive. There are tracks out there that sound like this record, probably sound a little better, but as a whole you walk away from Cut the Strings pretty damn satisfied. "Aftermath" is so minimal yet so nice, taking you back to those dark warehouses at 4 am. Those moments are so much mroe about vibe than they are about music though, and this album feels like a very well curated vibe. They hit all the right notes and make all the right moves but they aren't pushing things forward or making you question what this music can be. But maybe that's ok, maybe there is space for an album that hits it's groove and sticks with it rather than always trying to push things to their outer limits. Without songs like these we wouldn't have a diverse group of music to use in these super specific situations. All in all Cut the Strings serves it's purpose without trying to blow you away, and I'm fine with that.

7.0 out of 10