-
Jon Hopkins • Immunity • Domino • Producer: Jon Hopkins • Total Score: 8 of 10
Getting the resume references like Brian Eno and Coldplay out of the way, we’re left with an electronic album that is as personal as it is “popular.” This isn’t EDM as pop music; instead Hopkins brings you back to the excitement when electronic albums were as adventurous as they were technical. When acts like Underworld seduced you with subtle repetition and climactic dynamics. The UK producer also reminds you of the days when Cosmic Baby transported you to techno landscapes and piano-laden soundscapes. Hopkins’ fourth solo album has him raising the bar from 2009’s Insides, offering a lead single, “Open Eye Signal,” that’s got a late-night club sound. Other tracks alternate between glitching, shuffling or relentless beats, and blissful, Enoful ambience. The title track features King Creosote on guest-cooing as it brings us down gently and closes out the what must be one of the top electronic records of the year––and it’s only July.
--Daniel Siwek
