In a just about timely fashion, The Only Sound by Jonny Drop, eh, drops. Timely as this is a collection of blissed-out grooves seemingly from an Ibizan summer sunset at Cafe del Mar [though perhaps the memory of one rather than its present incarnation]. It’s no accident that George Evelyn aka Nightmares On Wax is a supporter. This album is on nodding terms with Evelyn’s Smokers Delight. Warm and glowing but ever so slightly askew. Throw in more than a passing tip of the hat to Dummy by Portishead and you have what could easily drift into a nostalgia-fest.
This paragraph is where I’m supposed to say that by some wizard-like dexterity, Mr Drop has avoided the nostalgia thing…except I can’t. The Only Sound really does revel in a previous era from start to finish. The thing is, it really is very enjoyable and it does just about add its own stamp along the way.
The opener, ‘The Only Sound‘ itself, has rattling beats and a bluesy atmosphere that may as well have been ripped straight from a ’90s session by Geoff Barrow and Beth Gibbons. It’s uncanny. Yet, for all that it’s been done before, it really is a pleasure. Misery and a louche groove has rarely been so seductive. Well, since Portishead anyway.
That is far from the only vibe on offer, however. Straight away, ‘Degrees‘ paints a far warmer, more soulful picture. Things are still downtempo but there’s extra funk and a dubby disco atmosphere. Classic soul vocals drift in and out of the mix. The percussion is deceptively heavy against such a dreamy sound and makes this a classic warm-up track.
A busy boy, Jonny Drop, with his work with The Expansions and beats production for others. This album however really does feel like a personal statement of intent. There’s a quirky personality about song titles like ‘Finsbury Lark‘ and it’s matched by a quietly eccentric production style. That song itself has really quite massive drums but they sit so perfectly within the groove it would almost slip by as easy listening chill out if heard on the radio. That is perhaps the cleverest and most impressive thing about The Only Sound. And it is what updates the formula. There is a bruising, groove-heavy element or undercurrent just around the corner, even as you’re drifting into a late summer glow. The surprises are never jarring, however, which is quite a feat.
Maybe the perfect album for this time of year, then. There may be a superficial, breezy surface but, lurking in the undergrowth is a rather tumultuous substratum. The fag end of an endless summer revealing it is mortal after all and chucking us into a raucous, weather-blasted autumn. The Only Sound updates what has gone before in consistently interesting ways. Which, in the grand rock and roll scheme of things, is an achievement in itself.
The Only Sound is out now on Albert’s Favourites.
