Neither/Neither by The Black Dog
A triumphant return to form for the Sheffield Techno trio
Skipping singles and remix collections Neither/Neither must be about the tenth official album from The Black Dog; an impressive milestone considering that the quality has rarely dipped since Bytes, their first outing on Warp Records, back in '93. Whether it's the early groundbreaking tracks like Virtual and The Weight or beautiful ambient works like Music For Real Airports or even the pummelling Techno on the Sound of Sheffield series, we're always guaranteed quality.
Like career highlight Radio Scarecrow, this new long player delivers an hour of emotive, ambient and upbeat music, however the vital sense of narrative, which was a key element in the 2008 album, is missing. There's still plenty of texture and depth to revel in though, from the pulsing core of Mk Ultrabrite to the crackling and insistent melody on Commodification. The slightly heavier Self Organising Sealed Systems introduces contrast (along with the ghostly "phils") to the gentler moments like B.O.O.K.S and The Frequency Ov Thee Truthers. Top moment has to be Control Needs Time.