Review // Lapalux- 'Nostalchic'

Stuart Howard- also known as Lapalux- finally releases his debut full-length this month and I reviewed it for the cool cats (Seriously, have you seen this event they are putting on? Scousers' know how to throw a party!) behind Waxxx Magazine, back home. I've been waiting for this record to drop ever since I saw the man himself splice together everything from Danny Brown spits, to pop bootlegs we thought we'd forgotten about and back again to his own sparkling recordings; it may only be March but 'Nostalchic' is definitely going to be holding its own come a lot of end of year lists, I can tell you that right now. You can pre-order it over here, too- Thankyou Based Brainfeeder!
Lapalux- 'Nostalchic'

Hailing from humble beginnings straight out of Essex and still only in his twenties, Stuart Howard- also known as Lapalux- is the only British signing to co-exist alongside the likes of heavyweights to the genre Martyn and Thundercat, upon the impressive roster of FlyLo’s Brainfeeder label. Having remixed Bonobo to melodic levels and turned Lianne La Havas’s ‘Lost & Found’ into a smooth, chopped ‘n’ screwed number whilst still retaining sentiment, Howard finally releases his debut full-length next month, a year after his acclaimed pair of debut EP’s for the label dropped to a rapturous reception; but will ‘Nostalchic’ be able to stay originally exciting across all twelve tracks?

Album opener, IMYSIS (Tape Intro), plays like an emotional, drawing piece thanks to high keys along with contagious, deep-rooted and ghostly introductional beats, showcasing his managbility and talent of successfully offering flair and notable, diverse points of interest that don’t just commence and halt at the starting block. ‘Guuurl’, first single to be previewed from the album, combines cleverly twisted vocals that soar over achingly submerged, investigational beats and cite nothing short of tremendous production values to make for an indubitably provocative single. As well as this, he manages to reflect how much more experimental and bold this collection of tracks pans out against his previous ‘When You’re Gone’ EP, mixing- as he does throughout the LP- guest vocals that don’t overshadow but complement his workings, exquisitely.

Releases such as the re-worked version of 2011’s ‘Kelly Brook’ that also features, cements Howard’s evident hip-hop influenced taste with deep vocal samples and what with the insertion of Quasimoto and Danny Brown tracks morphing their way into his recent live sets, it’s clear that this gent knows his shit- and well at that. The rippling undertones of ‘One Thing’ when combined with the bindings of static on ‘The Dead Sea’, makes it apparent that the obvious nostalgia/ chic combination is anything but dated and unfolds as a brilliantly pragmatic album that is sure to set the bar to new-fangled, fresh heights within UK electronica.
8/10

Words by Yours Truly X