The beginning of Matt Cutler’s sixth release as the rapidly influential Lone doesn't just resemble the start of the album, it encapsulates the start of life. First Born Seconds conceptualizes birth with Vangelis-style airy synths denoting life’s first breaths calmly and optimistically inside the sonic womb until radio-tuning frequencies symbolize the next stage: a search for primal existence.

 

Lone stays ambitious and conceptual throughout including throwing the rulebook out on album structure, shown by the vast song shifts and intermissions within the same track on Jaded, Coincidences and Airglow Fires. Although it’s obvious that the music contained is more suitable for late night radio mixes accompanying rides home rather than drive-time airplay. This is also judged especially by the prolonged solitary acid house bass line of Vengeance Video. 

 

Despite being a native of Nottingham, a lion’s share of the album is encompassed by his clever pairing of old school hip-hop beats specifically inspired by Chicago’s 1990s music scene mixed with contrasting genres which have gained him his allegiance of admirers and pioneered the genres “dream-hop” and “glitch-hop”. The infectious Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince vibe is abstractly fused with euphoric yet sour keyboards and futuristic synthesizers (2 is 8), xylophone and airport notice-board flickering (Jaded) and trippy chip-tune funk lounge (Meeker Warm Energy). 

 

Another admirable idiosyncrasy is his experimental use of American speech samples that succeed in their aim to be meaningful and thought provoking and add to the album’s realistic urban undercurrent. They can be in the form of a short excerpts exemplified on lead single Restless City and Coincidences,philosophical ponders on Begin to Begin, such as: “Am I awake or am I dreaming?” 

 

Furthermore they occasionally only reach a set of single syllable sounds, for instance on Vengeance Video. However, most impressive is the poetic nature of the narration found on Stuck, which is looped effectively to its hardship storytelling provoking sympathy and pity. Whilst, Lone completes the urban atmosphere with environmental samples creating the life of city streets. 

 

Gramophone rawness throughout the album also diminishes any assumption that this electronic album is overproduced and contributes to the overall feeling that the album belongs in a minuscule independent record store in Bristol where it will truly be appreciated. 

 

Amongst the transatlantic influence, Lone rebirths UK garage with it's signature piano chords on Aurora Northern Quarter and Vengeance Video which brings to mind late 80s classic Strings of Life’s Rhythim is Rhythim. Overall, there is still a clear house influence and it's basslines are mixed blissfully with pan pipes on Begin to Begin and shimmering synthesizers on Airglow Fires. 

 

Where life begins, life also ends and the conceptual project concludes with the new romantic-esqueClutched Under containing ghostly vocals swirling around tropical percussion and completed with a premature and sustained silent outro that supposedly expresses the emptiness of death. On the evidence above, Lone’s reality test has passed with flying colours. MTH

 

Best tracks: Aurora Northern Quarter, 2 is 8 and Restless City.