Lorn – Nothing Else

Does Lorn know his name sounds like a flat sausage popular in Scotland? His output betrays the fact he wouldn’t be too impressed with such an association. Nothing Else is best described as serious – the logical conclusion of dubstep, no longer a music to dance or listen to but one that exists as a presence. The soundtrack to an unfilmed Edgar Allen Poe nightmare.

All this is meant as a compliment – it is dark, cephalalgic and weighty, but the clever production by Warp Records’ Clark lets the originality of the 12 tracks emerge from the primordial clay they sound like they were born in. Single Cherry Moon (available as a free download) allows a chink of light and melody in, and the ravey synths on Automaton provide a foil to the black and white noise that permeates the mood; but overall Lorn’s second album is epic, monolithic and formidable. [Euan Ferguson]