Bob Moses unclothe a new precedent for accessible electronic LPs with ‘Days Gone By’Days Gone By

Bob Moses unclothe a new precedent for accessible electronic LPs with ‘Days Gone By’

Bob Moses are the genre-elitists worst nightmare – and it’s with that in mind that makes the duo so easy to love. If we took one thing from their inaugural run of EPs, it was that the North American duo saw room to expand the musicality of underground dance music in a reassuringly unapologetic manner. Ten tracks deep, their debut album for Domino does not disappoint. That is, unless evolution away from the world of turnt up club cuts or dull ambient electronica is not your thing.

At first glance, Days Gone By is a renaissance piece to the generation of guitar-wielding newcomers who felt left out of the left-of-field electronic space. From the very first moments of ‘Like It Or Not,’ a harrowing and naturally atmospheric blend of coordinated instrumentation and supple beat work, the Canadians set the precedent for a journey beyond the four-to-the-floor formula. It’s real music with an electronic exterior. Slower moments such as ‘Writing On The Wall’ and ‘Days Gone By’ are remedied by the likes of heavier footed offerings ‘Touch and Go’ and ‘Too Much Is Never Enough,’ leaving enough room for enjoyment on deeper dancefloors. Whilst ‘Talk’ sounds more built for the clubs, ‘Tearing Me Up’ dares to slide some alternative pop swing into the equation with radio single written all over it. These are the beautiful juxtapositions that dominate Days Gone By, but most impressively, they all do so in the key of Bob Moses’s consistent efforts to make the opposite of radio-friendly music strangely accessible.

If the left-of-field can be criticised of anything, it’s a double standard to call dance music’s more popular avenues ‘formulaic’ without recognising similar flaws among its own ranks. Bob Moses stands a world apart from anything else advancing within the industry right now. They bring songs with soul, instrumentation that speaks the language of electronic music, and a fresh sense of atmosphere to an otherwise disorientated market.

Would we be so bold as to call Days Gone By the best album of 2015 so far? Yes – with unflinching conviction. Here’s one for the haters who still claim there’s no creative soul or talent in electronic music.

Stream: Spotify 

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