Pinch & Shackleton - Pinch & Shackleton

I was most excited when I read in that there Wire that we would soon be treated to a full length collaboration between these two heavyweights. Personally Shackleton is the man for me out of the two but Pinch's twelves are always rousing listens! On here Sam S largely sets the scene for the first two tunes, his airy eastern beat-dribbling & eerie spiritual vistas dominate the opening scenes of a heady, rhythmically sublime journey. By 'Torn and Submerged' Pinch has totally thrown his cap into the ring with a slow stalk beat and DMZ style spook-synths whilst keeping it light and propulsive. Not too foreboding lest it weigh down the exploratory dynamic of this mercurial pairing. 'Selfish Greedy Life' returns to Shackleton territory with a creepy looped vocal edit and a mysterious brood-scape that owes something to the suspense movie genre. It evolves into one of those delicious astral hypno-fests that Sam S is so adept at creating, a distinctive & awesome corner of the bass music realm that is truly his. It feels like Pinch wanted to let Shackleton's vibe take priority on much of this album, himself contributing much of the dark, fevered sonic embellishments because he knows atmosphere speaks volumes and this is the real way forward. A brilliant album full of intrigue and dark exotica.