Kwes - Rollerblades (7" vinyl)

Described in the press release as ‘the Brian Eno of experimental UK pop’ (though isn’t Brian Eno the Brian Eno of experimental UK pop?) it gives you some indication of what is going on here from this collaborator with The xx, Bobby Womack, Hot Chip, etc.

The A side is a quaint piece of euro-pop which starts with a lovely descending chord sequence before launching into a slice of pop that could either be described as ‘cute’ or ‘insipid’ depending on your viewpoint. It sounds like Damon Albarn singing along to a slice of minimal electro-pop. The vocals and lyrics are kind of faux-naive with its tale of “rollerblading in the early 90’s and the narrator being told to go in for dinner”.

It’s saved however by a decent melody particularly on the chorus and a neat kind of epilogue that visits the back alleys of the Warp back catalogue, giving an intriguing coda to the otherwise pop fluff. I’m also reminded of the scattershot cockney ramblings of King Krule.  On the flip, there is a much more electronic offering with some nice modern day electronic pop production touches. No vocals this time so you can concentrate of the neat sonic trickery. Interesting stuff.