Advertisement

Album reviews Music

Herbert

Matthew Herbert’s music has become increasingly experimental and conceptual over the past 20 years, so much so that the most shocking thing about the latest addition to his Parts EP series, revived last year after a long dormancy, is how comparably normal the music sounds. Recent albums were constructed out of samples from the life cycle of a pig (2011’s One Pig) and the sound of a bomb being dropped on Libya (2013’s The End Of Silence), but now he’s returned to playfully deconstructing club music tropes, the concept that originally launched his career.

While accessible by his standards, the final instalment in the Parts series is still far wonkier than anything currently rocking clubs. His recordings under the Herbert moniker represent his more house-music-influenced side, but these songs are more like impressions of dance music, in which he deliberately gets everything a bit wrong while winking at the listener. That mischievous sense of fun is evident throughout. And apparently he felt so inspired while working on this series that his forthcoming album will also be released as Herbert. 

Top track: The Wrong Place

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.