Review Summary: Less upbeat dance pop anthems, more gloomy, jazzy compositions.
Looking into the background and life of Francis Harris, it’s quite surprising how his music turned out. After all, you wouldn’t really expect a hardcore punk rocker from Vegas to wind up as a DJ for the majority of his career. Yet, somehow, he too managed to fall in love with electronic music, as so many others had before him. And although it may be “just dance music” to him, it does give off a very thoughtful and intelligent vibe. You see, house music has, in recent years, been more associated with huge DJs such as David Guetta that often perform at huge nightclubs and parties. And while other subgenres of electronic music have also fallen under this category, house music has been hit the hardest by it. The main problem with this new house scene is the fact that it straight-up lacks innovation. Many of the more successful artists simply get rich off of dance pop singles and throw in more filler than they’re worth on a full-length, while others still (i.e. Deadmau5) wind up slowly wearing out their sound, no matter how enjoyable and intriguing they are initially. But Harris never strayed down that path. Just two years ago, in 2012, he released his debut album,
Leland to wide critical praise. With his second full-length album, entitled
Minutes of Sleep, Harris delves yet again into the crevices of downtempo house music, and pulls out a worthy successor to his other works.
At eleven tracks and over an hour long,
Minutes of Sleep isn’t exactly casual listening material. Despite this, however, Harris manages to keep the music interesting throughout, from the ambience of fourteen minute titan “Dangerdream-How Che Guevara’s Death and Bob Dylan’s Life Milit” to the dissonant tribal rhythms and jazz samples of “Lean Back”. Even better, Harris manages to keep the overall sound somewhat consistent in terms of flow and structure, hitting the sweet spot between experimentation and focus perfectly. It’s somewhat difficult to find the words to describe his music, because it’s not your typical house sound. There are a lot of tech, ambient, and downtempo influences, particularly on tracks such as “What She Had”, “Blues News”, and “You Can Always Leave”. This is a small departure from his slightly more vocal-oriented sound on
Leland and its subsequent remixes, but it works to great effect. The simplicity of the bass lines, drum beats, and instrumental samples create an ethereal atmosphere around the music, building a relaxing and enjoyable environment for even casual listeners.
When it all comes down to it, even if Harris’s brand of house is slightly darker and more melancholy than what most people are used to, it never feels hostile or threatening. It has a mellow yet somewhat pensive spirit about it, and is definitely one of the more interesting electronic albums of the year so far. If there’s one merit I can give Francis Harris, it’s that he’s managed to push his music into a realm where it becomes more than just something you can listen to. You have to
experience it to tap into its full potential.
