LOST IDOL is the moniker of one James Dean. He's not actually the second coming of a long-lost Hollywood superstar, but a Brighton-based producer making his own name for himself. Deservingly so, if this new EP is anything to go by.
Main tracks, 'Lightwerk' and 'Beesmouth' are culled from Dean's acclaimed second album 'Brave The Elements'. As the title may hint, 'Lightwerk' is a thinly-veiled homage to electro pioneers Kraftwerk's 'Autobahn', but it's far too good to be dismissed as mere pastiche. It cruises skilfully with the top down on a melodic and insistent motorik journey down the neu European highway, with different elements entering the mix, rising and building over a memorable five minutes until it finally slows down and pulls in for a dreamy final section prior to taking the chequered flag. Great stuff and then some.
'Beesmouth', by comparison, basks in blissed-out choral voices, insistent beats and a distinctly psychedelic aura. It apparently takes its' name from the notorious Brighton watering hole of the same name, but that's merely peripheral information. What is crucial to the plot is that it's another thought-provoking and immensely satisfying track, coming at you from another angle altogether.
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The word 'remix' can often strike fear into my heart, but the two remixes on display here are actually very respectable. The immortally-named Zoon van Snook ups the dance floor element of 'Lightwerk' without taking too many unnecessary liberties (in other words it's still intelligent, vibrant and retains its' melodic edge) while the Digital Midgets re-shaping of 'Beesmouth' cocks a snook towards The Aphex Twin and is weirder and considerably wonkier, but no less unsettling – or successful – for all that.
A fine EP all round then. The sort of record that the Electronica genre should be proud of, in fact. And I don't say that sort of thing too often these days.
Lost Idol on Myspace
Cookshop Records online
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