East India Youth – CULTURE OF VOLUME

East India Youth – aka William Doyle – does it again. 2014’s Mercury nominated triumph Total Strife Forever saw Doyle lead the pack of hotly-tipped techno-infused experimentalists, and this year’s CULTURE OF VOLUME won’t do any damage to that reputation. In fact, the record is a determined, forward-looking evolution from last year’s largely instrumental success. The initial QI-buzzer deserving response is that it’s got a load more singing on it, but, more importantly, CULTURE OF VOLUME is self-aware, ambitious and hugely broad in reach.

Note that all songs come in caps-lock; opener THE JUDDERING does exactly as it promises – a bone-shaking, intrusive introduction to an album that’s equally affecting. Tracks like BEAMING WHITE see Doyle flirt with showbiz glamour, while ENTIRETY is a roaring, anxious, forget-your-own-name monument to the Gods of techno. CAROUSEL shows off a softness of touch; serene vocals drift in a flood of gently choral synth, hypnotic. Voluminous indeed, CULTURE OF VOLUME charts a full spectrum of East India Youth in a manner wholly super-sized.