Devotional Songs

Released

Sam Shackleton was never really “of” club culture, even as his experiments have been pivotal in dubstep and Berlin techno worlds, but on this 2016 mini album he untethered himself completely from the dancefloor. His chimes, thumb pianos and hand percussion are still as pinprick-sharp as on any of his beat-oriented pieces, but there’s no techno or dub pulse, and – other than on “You are the One” – no earthquake low frequencies. Rather the tickly counterpoint is in service of the arch incantations of Rolando Tomasini, creating something that comes over as a loving tribute to Current 93 and late-period Coil, and is as insidiously spooky as that implies.

Joe Muggs

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