Reality Testing

Sound DNA

• Electronic
• House

• warm
• laid-back
• club

About

Lone, the alias of Matt Cutler, takes a break with 2014’s <i>Reality Testing</i>. After years of crafting aggressive house tracks and dance-floor favorites, the native of Nottingham, England, returns with an album of mostly laid-back grooves that give permission to the feet to kick back and for the mind to space out and relax. Even the 2013 single “Airglow Fires” is hardly a workout. It centers on Cutler’s trademark off-kilter beats, but much of the sound is deliberately stripped down to feel unfinished. “Coincidences” follows and transforms from a lazy-day wandering into a sampled spoken-word piece with a slightly harder drive. “Restless City” adds a twisted gait to reflect the restless leg syndrome that anyone dancing to this album must feel. “Meeker Warm Energy” piles on the synths. “Begin to Begin” drops individual notes at random for a playful touch, while the orchestrated synths aim for an ominous feel. Even the elliptical “Vengeance Video” has a mildness that makes it more dizzying than angry.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits