JayEtAl
OnlinePrintRadio
Winchester live dance duo JayEtAl's first studio album, Where No City Lights was one of Hampshire's most eagerly awaited releases of 2007. These ten, brilliantly composed tracks amalgamated that “home hi-fi” sound, haunting melodies and the blistering wall of noise Jay and Al conjure up between their drums and guitars live.The album was released in with a limited run of 500 copies. But now, just over two years later, the band’s label, Sotones, have decided to reissue the LP digitally, with the hope of bringing the duo to a wider audience.
Where No City Lights is a soaring cacophony of raw electronic post-rock that will melt your mind and move your feet – if you’re still communicating with them. It took them years to record but that's no bad thing - this is a glistening, deep gem of a record with a multitude of textures, from AI era grooves like “Puma” to the dirty groove of “Funktrom” or fragile Icelandic majesty of “If You Think You're Losing Your Mind, You're Not”.
But far from being an autistic exercise in bedroom banality, there's moments of real warmth and pulse-racing excitement here, too – tracks like “Feather” and “Place Of Trust”. Both of these tracks show the bands ability to blend a aurally “poppier” aesthetic a la Röyksopp with a rough-around-the-edges alternative vibe.