Almost 20 years ago, Late Of The Pier were an exciting post-nu-rave band who injected synthesizer sparkiness into indie. They even had a Top 30 album. They were a breath of fresh air. One of their members, Sam Eastgate, went on to produce solo material as LA Priest. While electronically constructed, his output has often wandered into Moderat/James Blake territory. Which is to say, sensitive, falsetto-leaning singer-songwriter fare. But for album number four he’s amped up the bang factor.
To assist him in this, his producer is Alex Ridha, AKA German EDM kingpin Boys Noize, a man who’s worked his big-room-bosh magic on everyone from Nine Inch Nails to A$AP Rocky. Eastgate has also returned to analogue synths, his own custom-built Polygene instrument alongside a vintage Korg. This adds a physicality to the sound.
The centrepiece and stand-out of Into the Sky is “Sailor”, a song that startlingly combines Eastgate’s folk-ish leanings and mystic lyricism with a slow, waltzing, bleepy, gentle psychedelia that hits as weird, android and different, yet also emotionally human. Nothing else quite matches this, which isn’t to say there isn’t more that’s worth investigating.
The album's title track is a speeding club stomper where the Boys Noize effect can be explicitly felt, but, while many of the album’s backing tracks pulse with acidic wobbliness, their intent is usually not immediately foot-moving and, sometimes, the sonic impact masks numbers whose contagiousness doesn’t live up to their large sound.
Nevertheless, there’s a good few to enjoy. The Hot Chip-ish four-to-the-floor chugger “Breathe” combines twinkling pop songwriting with decent weight, “Ever No” impresses with a backing effect that sounds like a reservoir of water glugging noisily down a gigantic plug, and opener “Rayon” has a moody forlorn charm.
Into the Sky may not trampoline LA Priest to the next level but it maintains his course, while adding welcome flecks of dancefloor colour.
Below: Watch the video for "Ever No" by LA Priest
