Digitalism - JPEG (2019)

With an electronic duo called Digitalism it makes a lot of sense for them to release an album with lots of digital reference on it. The album title is one, and it includes tracks called "Chrome.exe", "No Data" and "Data Gardens".

When you start listen to the album it sounds like something from the future with the title track. When we get to the second track on the album "Panavision" you know this is definitely Digitalism with their distinct sound.

It does however sound a bit more experimental than their previous efforts. The tempo changes all the time with some of the tracks being more ambient.

Another way they've moved with the times here is acknowledging the short attention span people have these days. Just 12 tracks on the album, and just 4 of these are more than 4 minutes long which is unusual in dance music. The penultimate track is barely of 90 seconds long. It makes for a pretty quick album.

One thing they haven't done to move with the times though is incorporate any influences from the awful world of EDM you have these days which is a good thing.

Acknowledging peoples short attention span these days though I think I should stop this review now.

Digitalism - Mirage (2016)

In the mid-00s guitar music was very much in. Such was the extent that we were seeing guitar bands playing at big events in Ibiza, a place that had been all about dance music in previous years.

Some parts of the dance music world reacted to this by incorporating rock elements into the music with varying results. One act who got this formula pretty much bang on was Digitalism with their debut album "Idealism".

I went to see them in concert and one thing I wondered was whether it would be just the 2 of them pressing buttons or would there be a full band. It was a mixture really, they were both pressing buttons with one of them occasionally moving behind the microphone to sing but they also had a live drummer there. It was a great gig. 

I bought their second album "I Love You Dude" when it came out in 2011. Then things quietened down a bit for while. In 2016 I did hear they were playing in London but opted not to go, more to do with other things going on in my life but at the same time they've been off my radar until now.

They released their 3rd album "Mirage" in 2016. We were now in a different world to that when they released their debut albums. Guitar music had long fall out of fashion and EDM was very much in.

This had no effect whatsoever on Digitalism, they stuck to their guns and stuck to the same formula they'd always been doing. This of course is a good thing.

That's not to say this is just "Idealism" part 2. It very much has it's own identity and goes a little experimental at times but within the bounds of electro. They even have a crack at hip hop with "The Ism" which is perhaps not the best part of the album but isn't bad.

Overall I found it an enjoyable listen and will probably listen again.