New Moon

Maayan Nidam's (Miss Fitz, Laverne Radix, Spunky Brewster) second album New Moon has many different levels. Stylistically, the Berlin-based producer has created an 11-track collection of alternative electronic rhythms that combines everything from blissful broken beat, to surrealist electro, jazz-influenced moments, acidic house, exploratory techno, and piano interludes. Psychologically though, there is much more going on. Clearly unfazed by constructing a bigger, more audacious picture, Nidam links her many different artistic desires on this album through cyclical electronic expressionism. The album is expansive. Disparate influences and eras are joined together through a subtle interplay of contrast and tone. The beats, repetition and some occasional fruity whistle stops make the journey absorbing and multi-dimensional. Beginning with a downtempo treat called On My Street, New Moon immediately captivates you with a dreamy, sun-kissed afternoon feel. Worming it's way through soft electro on Harmonious Funk (whose lyrics hint at a possible universal truth) it arrives at the quirky synthesizer jam, Trippin' Over You, which plays out like a strange ode to chemical love. The rolling, bass-driven house of The Great Suspenders is a loose, groovy bumper and perfect for those ever-so-serious after-parties. Send a Pigeon plays out like an electronic symphony of doom, with it's squealing feedback and fluttery distortion evolving subtly. The album then takes you down another unexpected corridor with Undermine, which sees a fun, child-like melody slowly beat a warbled techno loop into submission. Sunday Sunday is it's warm piano accompaniment. Disco loops, filters, delays, and a gorgeous vocal then clash on Lies in Love. And then, once again, we find Nidam playing with juxtaposition. She throws the impending unease of Last Moon, it's warped vocals and twisted syncopated beats, together with the beautiful, drifting electronica of Boastful. the track is hard to pin down - it manages to sound both like vintage pop and futurist electronica at the same time. Finally, Never Forever ends the album on a high note with perhaps a hint or an amalgamation of the album's base ideals: freedom, truth, and the cyclical nature of change.