Review Summary: A journey into the primitive unknown...
In 2012, UK electronic producer Andy Stott released Luxury Problems to much critical acclaim. He now attempts to follow up that fantastic release with his latest output, Faith in Strangers. He brought on his former piano teacher, Alison Skidmore, to provide vocals for this record.
Ultimately, Faith in Strangers is a marathon, and not a sprint. Stott does not rush the listener into anything, but lets the album develop itself. The first track, Time Away, is a slow-building experience that begins with near silence and develops into long, ghostly horn drones, formulating an unsettling, dark environment.
The second piece, “Violence”, keeps the idle pace going while introducing distorted and fragmented vocals from Skidmore. She speaks as a messenger, warning the listener of what’s upcoming. “Clap your hands, clap your hands, can’t save both and it’s not,” states Skidmore as she foreshadows beats that have yet to make themselves present. About nine minutes into the album, Stott teases us with a sample of a bombastic and bold backbeat with staccato bass hits and snares. The track becomes silent again as Skidmore, fully aware of the disturbance, asks, “Who’s stalking, Who’s crouching?’ Stott finishes the dialogue with the trap-inspired, violent attack hinted at earlier.
Stott begins to pick up the pace significantly on the third track, “On Oath.” Still with a significant deal of distortion and obscurity, the direction Stott is taking us becomes clearer. “No Surrender” rushes in with a villainous organ melody transitioning into a barrage of splintered, primitive bass and horn sounds, formulating an alarming soundscape.
“How it Was” is the most chaotic period of Faith in Stranger, an abstract collage of splintered keys and chopped vocal samples. Throughout the track, distinct melodies can be faintly heard behind walls of distortion and feedback, but Stott is only teasing us. He never allows us the satisfaction of letting this track develop into anything but a controlled mess. Strategically, this transitions right into one of the standout tracks, “Damage.” “Damage” is a borderline danceable anthem featuring steady cymbal and snare attacks underneath a grimy, cacophonous bass melody, further establishing Stott’s trap influences on this album.
Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel is found on the title track, the most hypnotic piece on this record. Except for on select moments, the record is finally free of the entrapping feedback and haze that hovers over this album. Although not fully intelligible, Skidmore brings forth her most relaxing and mesmerizing vocal part, celebrating in a new found clarity.
The album comes full-circle, concluding very similarly to how it began on the final track “Missing”. This closing piece explores familiar territory with drawn out drones and eerie orchestral sounds to capture the unsettling nature Stott desires.
If there is anything to nitpick with this album, is that it can grow somewhat predictable, with some tracks becoming repetitive and elongated. Faith in Strangers is missing a couple memorable moments, perhaps a captivating melody or one more pummeling bass attack to stand out. This album needs just a slight push to take it to the next level.
Faith in Strangers is a cohesive musical experience full of mystery and curiosity. Stott explores territories of primitivism, under haze and disorientation. The title, Faith in Strangers, suggest that Stott is in fact a stranger to a new world, trying to make make sense of his surroundings. Or perhaps we are the strangers, and Stott is trusting us to join him on an adventure as we converse with ideas that are still a mystery to us, searching for clarity.
