For most techno fans, the prospect of Ben Klock and Lucy working together is very good news. In terms of headline value, War Lullaby is a landmark release for Lucy's Stroboscopic Artefacts label, but despite the marquee billing, these two heavyweights have pulled out little in the way of surprises. Indeed, War Lullaby is very much the product of the two collaborators' respective tendencies.
This by no means a negative; these are simple tracks, but they are steeped in a woozy environment of slowly oscillating and unfolding techno. Lucy's satisfying melodic depth and Ben Klock's otherworldly command of subtle driving repetition meet and make for immersive listening. At the heart of the EP are headline tracks "War Lullaby" and "Santeria," which are swamped in layers of shifting repetitious static that give welcome momentum and depth. The ambient tracks bookending the EP are pleasantly in line with the overarching narrative here, but fail to add much in terms of intrigue.
Still, War Lullaby is a satisfying collection of tracks that, despite being no more than the sum of their parts, are made from very good parts, indeed.
(Stroboscopic Artefacts)This by no means a negative; these are simple tracks, but they are steeped in a woozy environment of slowly oscillating and unfolding techno. Lucy's satisfying melodic depth and Ben Klock's otherworldly command of subtle driving repetition meet and make for immersive listening. At the heart of the EP are headline tracks "War Lullaby" and "Santeria," which are swamped in layers of shifting repetitious static that give welcome momentum and depth. The ambient tracks bookending the EP are pleasantly in line with the overarching narrative here, but fail to add much in terms of intrigue.
Still, War Lullaby is a satisfying collection of tracks that, despite being no more than the sum of their parts, are made from very good parts, indeed.