Bent

From the opening moments of this album, you are set to rest in a sea of electronic bliss. Slow beats, beautiful electronics, strings and a soft flute welcome you to The Everlasting Blink and the rest of the experience is well worth the trip. This is the second release by the Nottingham, England duo of Simon Mills and Nail Tolliday, and seeing as their debut was a mainstay of chill-out DJ sets, this was to be a highly scrutinised follow-up. Luckily, they had some high calibre help from legendary ’80s producer Stephen Hague, who has played a major role in the sound of bands like New Order, OMD and the Pet Shop Boys. Hague keeps the variety of sounds on the album smooth and only really makes his presence known on "Stay the Same,” which serves as a tribute of sorts to his previous work. Although primarily instrumental, there are some sampled vocals from the vast array of vintage records used in the album’s production, as well as a special appearance by the Beloved’s Jon Marsh, who adds his sexy vocal style to "Beautiful Otherness.” Some songs are almost comical and make good use of the slide guitar and vintage samplers. Bent clearly wanted to make an album that was relaxing as well as fun to listen to and they have done just that.