Rated: Disclosure - Settle

I've been to Reigate and let me tell you, it's not a funky locale. You wouldn't expect the likes of synthpop-house phenomenon Disclosure to originate from such a docile town, however life is packed with surprises. Jumping into the charts with their beautiful single 'Latch' featuring collab favourite of the year Sam Smith, the brothers scored themselves a number 11 position and a huge volume of airplay. The song, with its mid tempo beats and hypnotic vocal arrangement, became my number 10 (of 25) song of 2012. Now we're half way through 2013 and debut album Settle is ready for your audio pleasure - is it a joy though & does it 'save dance music'?

I've never been into the whole 'Intro' track thing, especially when it's just 1 minute of some guy bellowing in preacher fashion about spontaneous combustion. That being said, the fade into the first proper track of the album 'When a Fire Starts to Burn' is seamless and well executed. It's unfortunate the intro doesn't fade into a better track, that isn't repetitive and soulless. Way less pop oriented than their radio friendly 'Latch', it's harder than you expect having had the soft tones of Sam Smith wrapping you up for the past 8 months. Featurless 'F For You' is similarly repetitive and doesn't take you anywhere with its production, not even the slightest hint of a crescendo. 

The thing with Disclosure is that they love to layer up the gloss on their tracks, giving them a futuristic sheen. The majority of the tracks in this 14 song collection lack any individual personality. I appreciate that artists must maintain an audible identity, to an extent, so that they are easily recognisable on the over packed airwaves. However, Disclosure have stuck with a formula and lumped lots of too similar songs together in one space. The likes of 'Stimulation' should be called 'Erectile Dysfunction' and 'Second Chances' shouldn't even be given time. Featuring an under-layer apparently lifted from likeable Aluna George effort 'White Noise', even Jessie Ware collab 'Confess to Me' can't get things back on track - and that was hard for a JW mega fan to say!

For a dance band who can boast some impressive contemporary names as collaborators, Disclosure really didn't think Settle through very much at all. It's a soulless album, the majority of which fills me with concern over the future of UK dance music. If this is the future, remind me to avoid dance-floors for the foreseeable future.

1.5/5

Download: Latch / White Noise