Langham Research Centre
Tape Works Vol. 1

Composer and electronics mastermind Lauren Bousfield has always displayed a virtuouso flare while ecstatically flying by our ears at lightning speed, seemingly from 10 directions at once. On her latest album, she brings a new found expertise in orchestral arranging from her other work as a cinema composer, and puts vocals to the front. Much like her finger blurring piano playing, these vocals seem to be passing us by at the speed of light. We know they're there, but they dance around us rather than beat straight into our bodies. Our souls feel these songs, not just our hips.

tags: electronic, ambient, experimental, folk, japanese, thai, Japan

boomkat: ...‘Bad Twang’ follows on from 2017’s ‘In Fine Style’ LP with a more conceptual lean, employing his self-taught surf guitar tekkers with a DIY conflation of compatible styles whose sum outweighs their components. His conception of cowboy exotica or rancher dub practically imagines the soundtrack to a Tarantino or Jodorowsky flick set in some parched, purgatorial landscape where various genres criss-cross the desert in heat hazy licks and languorous grooves, shimmering like elusive fata morganas.

Editions Mego: ...If you have heard any of Thighpaulsandra's previous albums, you will know that you'd best approach this record with no fixed set of expectations, because once again he changes genres and defies easy classification, sometimes more than once within one song. Drawing on his long-time background as a key member in such diverse groups as Coil, Spiritualized and Julian Cope's band (in each case arguably at the height of their creative prowess) and his work as producer and sound engineer for an even larger variety of customers, you'll find classical passages next to hard rock riffing, krauty experimental work-outs turning into super catchy, almost radio-friendly songs and more.Many adjectives have been used to describe Thighpaulsandra’s work: epic, challenging, timeless, idiosyncratic, but certainly never predictable or boring.Possibly his most rewarding album yet and a welcome and unusual entry, in the Mego catalogue, which will entertain and astonish listeners who are fond of having their mind severely altered by sound.