Sepalcure

Praveen Sharma and Trevor Stewart's eponymous debut full-length as Sepalcure sees the American duo step out from their primarily British contemporaries into territory of their own creation. Sepalcure is a platform for the duo to refine their sound ("See Me Feel Me," "The One") and experiment further (the dub feel on "Yuh Nuh See," IDM on "Eternally Yrs") with their particularly accessible take on UK bass, which has been in the works since Love Pressure, stretching it out to just under an hour. Mostly, it works. The synths in "See Me Feel Me" illuminate a skeletal groove that supports a canopy of growing soundscapes and arpeggios, to glorious effect. "Carrot Man" lurches with heavy pads and a wordless vocal sample looped throughout. Numerous samples add to each song, begging for immediate repeat listening and emerging focal points that sometimes have a tendency of dipping below the radar. Sepalcure could benefit from trimming one or two songs, in terms of track flow; otherwise, Sepalcure have produced an overwhelmingly memorable dance record, as well as a rightfully ambitious artistic statement. For Trevor Stewart (aka Machinedrum), that's two for two in 2011.