Company could have been recorded any time in the past 25 years. Although Slime’s debut feels fresh, affinities with the familiar tag Company as a retro-nodding debut which will have a broad appeal. Chin-stroking collectors will love its references. Hipsters dwelling in the edgy zones of cities will love the comedown, late-night, reflective atmosphere. The Newcastle-born, Hackney resident electronicist Will Archer – who assumes the name Slime – has created an album with the potential to cross boundaries.
The chief attribute of Company is the ease with which it brings together the disparate as a cohesive whole. There’s the glitchy shuffle of trip hop on “My Company”. “In One Year” sports jazzy piano. “The Way of Asprilla” takes 23 Skidoo’s funk slap bass and merges it with trip hop. The muted hip hop workout “Particia’s Stories” brings thoughts of Marky Mark and J Dillah. The soul-slanted “Hot Dog” could be a made-over Soul II Soul. Iceland’s Mũm also bubble up. Most striking is the clear nod to John Hassell and his Fourth World music: especially the clarinet on “Striding Edge”, “In One Year’s” treated vocal and the entirety of “The Way of Asprilla”. The only drawback is Company’s unified ambiance. Some variation in tempo from the downbeat and stronger melodies would have been good to help rescue the album from being a tad dull overall.
In contrast to the album’s confidence with transforming its source materials, there has been some confusion about who the album should be credited to. Some versions of the sleeve, including the one seen on Amazon, bear the credit Will Archer instead of Slime. What’s been issued though identifies Company as a release by Slime. Based on his mostly sure-footed debut album, Archer should ditch the alternate identity and claim the credit.
Overleaf: watch the video for “Hot Dog” from Slime’s Company
Watch the video for “Hot Dog” from Slime’s Company
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