Albums
December: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Andrew Weatherall, Solange, Roman Flügel and more
Roman Flügel 'All The Right Noises' (Dial)
A good quarter of a century into his musical career, Roman Flügel is still capable of absolutely tearing up dancefloors with electro-techno that straddles credibility and mainstream impact as well as anyone in the game. Here, though, he’s in contemplative mode. This album is, by his own account, an antidote to the wild dancefloors he plays to every weekend – and though there is techno of sorts on ‘All The Right Noises’, it’s very much of a horizontal variety. In fact, the most successful and individualist tracks are the completely ambient ones. If there’s a fault here, it’s that we’d love these totally meditational tracks to be separated out from the more edgy, rhythm-led ones – but that’s just quibbling, really, because every track taken on its own merits is an absolute cracker, and the variety works to the album’s benefit as much as to its detriment. Undulating melodies, exquisite sparkling detail and a sense of vast space all add up to a blissful listening experience. Joe Muggs
8/10
