Album Review: Alex Smoke – Love Over Will
2 min read
Master of hallucinogenic craft, Scottish DJ/Producer Alex Smoke is spinning his brand of textured sound once more with his latest opus Love Over Will – and it’s just as intriguing as you’d expect. Combining a multitude of electronic layers and rhythmic textures he creates artistic tracks with the upmost depth, and delving into each brings across new intrinsic sensations with each listen.
Love Over Will is a vessel, and each song is a container bursting with emotion and various levels of twisted sound that’s best described by the title that labels it. From the reaching vocals that desperately yearn throughout Dire Need, to the distorted vocal layer that constructs All My Atoms, and eventually rounding to the bright, burning sense of hope that radiates through Whitening. Of course, not forgetting the other profound additions, the striking instrumental tunes, each revelling in an intense power that stands alone without lyrical hooks. The deep, growing beat of Galdr pulses and thrives in combination with the delicate layer of strings, leaving nothing but a wordless track that swirls and sways, departing with a potent emotional impact. Similarly, this is also highlighted in title track Love Over Will, as an ominous brass section hypes up an eager beat which leads the electronica into an ominous flourish, before falling and fading to static.
Alex Smoke certainly creates sound that’s a subtle assault to the senses, and it is one that demands an open mind. Without that its elusive social commentary which is veiled within each layer will be lost, and all you’ll be left with is twisted electronic noise. Love Over Will, is an enraptured collection of tracks that are frantic but still quite fragile, the seamless intricacy of warped electronica paired with an overwhelming sense of euphoria works to map the journey of this striking album.
