Walls

Walls' Alessio Natalizia and Sam Willis have established themselves as masters of emotionally-charged electronic music, as can be heard on their 2010 self-titled debut LP and Coracle. However, when compared, Walls' sophomore effort lacks the emotional impact set of its predecessor. The album opens with a pastiche of euphoria-inducing guitars and hazy vocal swoons, but two tracks in, the mood shifts from the more ambient textures of pad-laden numbers to the more dance floor-friendly percussion of "Sunporch." The album slowly presses back into the more melodic and atmospheric pieces Walls have become known for with "Vacant," a tremolo-heavy work of shoegaze-style guitar drenched in stereophonic reverb. The minimal looping of "Drunken Galleon" brings closure to release, solidifying the uplifting, heavenly-like experience that is Walls. Coracle is a thematic work of beautiful, droning melodies that's well-suited to a start-to-finish listen. While it seems to miss some of the key emotions touched on by their debut, it still manages to keep the hedonistic aspects of "fad" electronic music (i.e., music designed for peak-hour dance floor play centred upon breaks and drops) far from consciousness.