Friends Of Friends US Vinilo y CD

Review: Alongside fellow West Coast brethren such as Sholohmo, Groundislava is bringing forth a plush take on the Californian beat scene ideals, with his own brew favouring rich synths of an 80s persuasion. This particular slant of vintage aesthetic mining is shot through with the woozy detuned charm and melancholia that made acts such as Hype Williams stand out initially. The tempos on his debut album for Friends of Friends shift around while the atmosphere and approach stays joyfully intact, creating a cohesive ride through a romantic sound universe where melody is king and yet there's not one sappy note to be found.

Review: Yet another collection of stunningly cosmic beat work from LA's Shlohmo, "Laid Out" runs the emotional gamut from angular, frenetic screams to soul-massaging vibes and back again. Opening with the yearning, sleepy croons of How To Dress Well on "Don't Say No", we're then wooed by the pitched up garagey twists of "Out Of Hand", spun-out and dazzled by the processed wails on "Later", cuddled softly by the twinkling textures of "Put It" and finally sent to bed with a cup of sweet sonic cocoa on "Without". Deep, dreamy and delectable, the Wedidit boss is on fine form here.

Review: The Los Angeles-based Friends of Friends label is naturally elated to have notched up five years in the dog-eat-dog world of independent music. Naturally, they wanted to mark the occasion properly, so have put together this 36-track double CD opus, featuring a mix of popular hits (see Shlomo's "Places" and Salva's "Wake Ups", for starters), B-sides, rarities and unreleased cuts. There's much to admire across the two discs, which gleefully flit between styles - experimental hip-hop, fragile synth-pop, grandiose pop-house, crystalline IDM, ambient and two-step, amongst other things - whilst retaining an open-minded sense of fun. Look out for a previously unheard jam from Shigeto and Kyson, as well as admirable remixes from Machinedrum, Bondax and Nicolas Jaar.