Pinch will forever and always be a titan in the dubstep scene. And rightly so — he's an artist that has always been willing to innovate while simultaneously tending to a unique and singular aesthetic palette. Like many of his contemporaries, Pinch has explored tempos out of the genre's rigid 140bpm, but unlike many he never fully stepped away from making interesting and well-produced dubstep. Thus, his collaboration with legendary dub producer and occasional industrial tinkerer Adrian Sherwood seemed, on paper, like a logical and fruitful project. However, what could have been a warped, experimental and soulful take on the intersection of dub and industrial is instead a rather bizarre homage to the staid dubstep of yesteryear.
Late Night Endless does not cut new ground; rather, the listener is asked to trudge through ten tracks of overwrought genre tropes interspersed with poorly chosen samples and uninspired vocal contributions. Unfortunately, they deviate from this template only occasionally — and admittedly to great effect, most notably on the quiet, plodding subtlety of vintage Four Tet-sounding "Wild Birds." It should also be noted that the production quality is invariably excellent; many of Late Night Endless' stretches are fine examples of the exquisite sound-design that dubstep is known for. Still, the net effect is ultimately an uninspired collection of tracks that do little to offer a close listener anything new.
(On-U Sound)Late Night Endless does not cut new ground; rather, the listener is asked to trudge through ten tracks of overwrought genre tropes interspersed with poorly chosen samples and uninspired vocal contributions. Unfortunately, they deviate from this template only occasionally — and admittedly to great effect, most notably on the quiet, plodding subtlety of vintage Four Tet-sounding "Wild Birds." It should also be noted that the production quality is invariably excellent; many of Late Night Endless' stretches are fine examples of the exquisite sound-design that dubstep is known for. Still, the net effect is ultimately an uninspired collection of tracks that do little to offer a close listener anything new.