Remember when dance music used to come with a radio edit? When the tracks were long and drawn out, ready to be remixed, chopped and sampled? Nowadays dance music is so common in the charts it comes in handy three minute, bite size pieces. Yet by courting the charts and not the clubs, is it really dance music anymore?
Disclosure’s latest album, ‘Caracal’, sure sounds like dance
music. The tracks are structured with percussive intros and outros, and have
that vibrant deep house sound the duo have become known for. Yet in interviews
they’re eager to distance themselves from the dance scene – they’re producers
not DJs; their new material has more of a traditional pop structure; and their
influences stretch beyond deep house and garage into R&B and pop.
So is ‘Caracal’ dance masquerading as pop, or vice versa?
Really, Disclosure are a pop act using their name and position as
dance-influenced auteur producers as a springboard for the vocal talents of others.
Would the likes of Sam Smith and AlunaGeorge have found success without featuring
on the duo’s 2013 debut?
Now, however, they’ve reached such a respected position they
can work with established and up-and-coming artists alike. Here Sam Smith of
course makes a return on overly-familiar lead single Omen, whilst big names like The Weeknd, Miguel and Lorde all make
appearances, alongside tracks from lesser-known artists including LION BABE,
Kwabs, Nao and Jordan Rakei. The results, though, are a mixed bag. At their
best, Disclosure are able to collaborate with artists and amalgamate varying
styles. Opener Nocturnal, for
instance, has a smoother R&B feel that fits with The Weeknd’s latest hit Can’t Feel My Face; Lorde’s unmistakable
vocal adds an edginess to the otherwise sun-dappled synths of Magnets; and Good Intentions is as lushly produced as any of Miguel’s own work.
Other tracks, though, sound like typical Disclosure with a featured vocalist: Hourglass featuring LION BABE and Holding On featuring jazz singer Gregory
Porter are already dated.
And that’s the main issue with ‘Caracal’. In many ways this
is simply Disclosure in default mode, an album of safe tracks that doesn’t
advance their sound in any meaningful way. As a dance act, this is standard deep
house music that fails to stand out from the crowd; as a pop act, they have
failed to convincingly transfer their house sound into a varied pop aesthetic.
Dance or pop, they are both and neither, landing in an awkward middle ground
that is unlikely to appease either fanbase. It’s telling, too, that the least
interesting tracks are those missing featured vocalists – Disclosure are dependent
on their collaborators, not the other way around.
Occasionally they do dip a toe outside of their comfort
zone. Superego shuffles in a laidback
groove beneath Nao’s sultry vocals, whilst Masterpiece
shows a sense of subtlety in the delicate production that’s missing
elsewhere. Both tracks hint at where the duo could go next, yet are indicative
of an album that overall settles in a mellow mid-tempo. This is not a genre-defying comeback; it’s less urgent, less
exciting, and less vital than their seminal debut.
3/5
Gizzle’s Choice:
* Magnets
* Good Intentions
* Masterpiece
Listen: ‘Caracal’ is available now.
