That Julian Corrie, the one-man band better known as Miaoux Miaoux, was until this week yet to release an album properly called seems like something of a sin for the length of time that his full-flavoured electro-fused dream pop has been doing the rounds on various EPs. That said, what has emerged bright-eyed and daring from the folds of Chemikal Underground is certainly worth the wait.
Light of the North is an accomplished piece of work that almost dares you to categorise it, running the gamut from straight-up pop to the sort of challenging dancefloor filler you’d expect to pack out the sweatiest of clubs; with detours into glitchy experimentation, rap and emotive, atmospheric wordplay. Corrie’s electro arrangements form the common thread these ten tracks share, weaving them together into a perfectly-crafted mixtape.
On album opener ‘Sweep Clean’ Corrie demonstrates his ear for a gorgeous tune – his clear voice singing a simple, summery melody sounds innocent, uplifting, as it emerges from electro fuzz and the song’s dirty, pulsing riff. It’s a trick played again on the muddy, glitchy ‘Autopilot’; something of a mischievous title to ponder over the song’s loosely hypnotic you-can-think-for-yourself refrain.
The album’s two duets – ‘Virtua Fighter’, featuring Edinburgh rapper Profisee alongside Corrie’s melodic chorus, and floor-filler ‘It’s A Dream’ in which Maple Leaves’ Anna Miles shows she has the lungs on her to rival whatever they’re thrusting to in the seedier clubs these days – show an artist who is not afraid to challenge himself, and neither of them sounds like a misfire. Elsewhere the instrumental ‘Cloud Computer’ is cool and confident, with just a hint of lazers.
The album winds down from ‘Stop The Clocks’ onwards, with a trio of emotive tracks that wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack to some critically-acclaimed teen drama. The Postal Service comparisons are obvious but I’d argue that if Corrie is channelling Ben Gibbard, it’s on those latter-day Death Cab For Cutie records that focus on layers of heavy, clever instrumentation over heartbreaker lyrics. Regardless, the note that this corker of a debut ends on is a triumphant one as it promises “this not the end”.
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