People Press Play is one of the most instantly satisfying albums on a label of instantly satisfying albums, made that much more impressive because it’s a debut. With the ingredients involved, however, that’s not a very shocking observation. Future 3 and System members Anders Remmer (Dub Tractor), Thomas Knak (Opiate), and Jesper Skanning (Acustic) all have pretty decent solo and group résumés on their own. Tossing the sultry voice of Sara Savery into the mix only sweetens the deal. With so many talented fingers in the pie, it’s not really surprising that this album sounds so fully realized.
Savery’s dousing of multi-octave vocal harmonies -- recalling similar work by Tarsier with Anticon’s Alias and most of the girls in the No Women No Cry series -- aren’t tremendously original, but their presence is proven necessary in the context of the bass-heavy, ambient electronic pop behind it. While our subs deal with the sad bubble basslines (which more than likely stem from Remmer’s own work), vibrant washes of frozen, cascading synth pads, playfully warped leads, and pinhole punch card programmed percussion flow through like-minded aural fields with Savery’s vocals, running the chanteuse gamut from fractured, moody pieces of sombre scat, like on the opening “Girl” and the almost Gold Chains-like “That Walk” to ethereal rave (“These Days”) and starkly presented diary cuttings on the beatboxing, post-rock “Hanging On.” Her voice is essentially used as its own instrument, taking the lead when the opportunity arises and providing atmospheric cooing whenever the mood dictates so. Doesn't that just sound lovely? Believe me, it is. People Press Play’s eponymous debut is a clear standout on a label of quality and deserves all the fawning press it can and should receive.
More about: People Press Play
