-
State of Mind - Source: ONE News
State of Mind return with their second studio album, Faster Than Light.
This is, in effect, their full length international debut as their first album, Take Control, was restricted to a domestic release due to licensing issues.
However, it would still be rather inappropriate to describe the duo as being new to the international stage with their tunes featuring in the sets of DJs such as Klute, Friction and Noisia, to name but a few. The lads have also successfully toured abroad many times since the release of Take Control.
I always strike a problem when reviewing a piece of electronic music. Unlike most other genres, where we happily drift from album to album with not much in the way of updates, the electronic artist (well, the successful ones anyway) are constantly evolving their sound through a series of single releases.
So I'm faced with the dilemma of either tailoring a review to those who suffer my addiction to vinyl or those who only know State of Mind through the CD realm.
Since I'm holding a CD in my hands, I guess it makes sense to effectively ignore the chin strokers and speak to some normal people. It also gives me a bit more to talk about, as the State of Mind sound has evolved significantly since Take Control hit the shelves in mid 2006.
The most noticeable step in the evolution has been a greater attention to the breakdowns, with more detail paid to producing nice intricate drum breaks. It would appear that after the instant rewards of tracks like Sunking and Back to the Jungle, the lads have set themselves a challenge and come up trumps with tracks that will grow on you such as Division Ten and Spacesurfer, which both benefit from the aforementioned attention to the breakdown.
Faster Than Light combines cuts ready for the floor with numbers such as Fly, which makes for great summer listening, especially thanks to the silky smooth vocals of Elitia Clark. The range present on this album is demonstrated to perfection as Fly subsides allowing the raw power of Wake Up Call to take over to devastating effect.
State of Mind prove they can still make an anthem by teaming up with local rapper PNC for the aptly named City on Fire to create a high energy banger which I'm sure will have many a raver calling for the rewind.
Exclusive to the CD release version of the album is a bonus remix disk featuring interpretations from the likes of Dose, Mindscape and Spinline. This disk is definitely geared more towards the dance floor, with highlights being the Sigma remix of Flawless and the VIP version of Lonely Planet which I cannot wait to hear on a decent sound system.
All in all, it's a solid effort which I'm sure will not only
tear apart dance floors but also stand the test of time.
