I have made a promise to myself- to polish off quite an enormous list of music before the new year. A number of albums and EPs that I've found but have never got around to sharing are crying out for attention! First on tonights agenda is Water Babys and their eponymous debut record. Thirteen tracks of classically downtempo electronica await you if you decide to take the jump in this albums general direction. Some songs are worth it and others just don't warrant such a risk. But that's the way life goes, and at the end of the day you get a neat little colouring book if you walk Indiana Jones style into the abyss, with a bit of faith and an open ear. After the rather quaint opener 'Guitar Interlude No. 2', which sounds just as you would expect we're dealt 'F**k Hugh, Grant'. The relaxed amalgamation of electronic beats and guitar is unfortunately offset by the computerised high pitch vocals that accompany it! 'There's a Griffin at the Door' follows with Harry Potter-esque magic and mystery, another beat, this time absent over-produced singing, holding the three minutes together. A great nostalgic and jazz-infused vibe takes hold during the second half, met with a lovely sample and a brilliant lead into 'The Hippo On Campus', a more traditional, but no less electronic track. The much welcomed break that is 'Guitar Interlude No.1' succeeds this and makes a quite beautiful path into the final half of the album. A reoccurring theme among the rabble of effects and techniques, some used well and others not, is that of jazz. The nostalgia. A certain relaxing, soothing ability on the music's behalf to make the hours fly by. Sure, that annoyance from Water Babys to infuse hip hop with everything might distract and detract at times, but when the duo get it right, on songs like 'Radio' and 'Binary Birds', something oh so wonderful occurs. Ignore the misplaced influence from four other artists on 'Denver Sky Light'. Block out the glare of drones from 'Waterbourne'. Water Babys are attempting too many things at too many points in this debut. You might disagree, but stream the truly amazing 'Guitar Interlude No 1', then check out the other numbers at the Bandcamp here!
