Beat Spacek is the latest from Steve Spacek, a UK producer and vocalist who's been on the scene for well over a decade and has the background to prove it — from his work as Spacek to collaborations with names like J Dilla, Mark Pritchard as half of Africa HiTech and, most recently, that of Beat Spacek. Modern Streets acts as a play on itself, the album an execution of modernity, created using iPhone and iPad apps. But, as with any album born of of-the-moment apps with kitschy composition, Modern Streets almost sounds like that kid who's learned three chords on guitar and bombards family and friends with it.
For the most part, the album trudges along on a handful of notes whose repetitions fluctuate so mildly that entire tracks often go by unnoticed, with few exceptions — "Tonight" lingers, as it's a bit more progressive than the rest, with an 8-bit intro that scales back into a clustered beat before unfurling into the bass-heavy track, while "Gotta Get Some Music" rolls in as an offbeat conglomeration of synths, clips and claps and muffled keys. Elsewhere, it's an interesting concept for an album, but it falls a bit flat.
(Ninja Tune)For the most part, the album trudges along on a handful of notes whose repetitions fluctuate so mildly that entire tracks often go by unnoticed, with few exceptions — "Tonight" lingers, as it's a bit more progressive than the rest, with an 8-bit intro that scales back into a clustered beat before unfurling into the bass-heavy track, while "Gotta Get Some Music" rolls in as an offbeat conglomeration of synths, clips and claps and muffled keys. Elsewhere, it's an interesting concept for an album, but it falls a bit flat.
