CHLLNGR Form Of Release Album Review

Deep dark dub, with a soulful pop twist.

Denmark’s CHLLNGR creates some-time driving electro based dub, full of smooth synths and darkened kick-drums, with an acapella dessert.

Enlisting a cavalcade of up-and-coming vocal talent, Denmark’s newest musical starlet takes influences from the school of Jamie Woon and James Blake and mixes them with some elements of FKA Twigs and a hint of Blood Orange.

Opening with the dark and moody ‘For The Books’, this is a good antidote to the surplus of generic Dub/EDM hybrids that currently pop over the airwaves.

Moving effortlessly from genial sparseness (‘First Time’) to soundscapes of bass notes so drawn out you can hear their longing (‘Fall’), before creating a funk driven number that puts you more in mind of Pharrell or Jungle, with an understated Erykah Badu-alike intoning “what you really want from me?” (‘Yes’), this is an album created from the dub cookbook, but with more than enough interesting twists to keep you listening.

There are smatterings of TV in the Radio, and Tinashè in the oddly driving ‘Art and Science’, and the African percussion and repetitive chanting of ‘Waiting’ will stick in your head.

Ending with the delicate plodding Gospel chorus of ‘Save Me’, it’s a varied offering, and one that bodes well for the highly ranked newcomer.

It’s a remarkably elusive listen the first time: the energy of the album is akin to a restrained Walter White – you know there’s something else that could come out and you’re waiting to see if it’ll happen. It’s an intelligent record that engineers the Bassy dub space well, every sound is expertly placed, but unlike Walter, it doesn’t ever quite explode; the album ends with you needing to listen to it again to see if it will happen the second time.

Check out CHLLNGR ‘Come Around’ featuring Josiahwise Is The SerpentWithFeet

By Robin Lewis