UK electronic duo Mount Kimbie formed in 2008, released their debut album in 2010, and thankfully – three years later – along comes their second full-length release, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth.
The two years in production have, naturally, changed Mount Kimbie’s sound, and in their second creation they move away from the ambient, often lyric-less soundscapes found in highly acclaimed debut Crooks And Lovers, to flex their musical muscle and prove that they are more capably diverse than ever before.
Dominic Maker and Kai Campos add vocals on what is now known to be the lead single, “Made To Stray,” a contribution not frequently offered up on previous releases.
King Krule, the new moniker for 18-year-old songwriter Archy Marshall, provides vocals on two tracks “You Took Your Time” and “Meter, Pale, Tone.” Krule’s strong and profound vocals sit in stark contract to the teenager’s slight appearance, but beyond aesthetic observations, it is tracks like these that signify and capture Mount Kimbie’s new musical diversity.
The breadth of sound, lyric, and rhythm the duo very compellingly execute is central to this album.
Furthermore, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth has a fluidity that enables songs to evolve naturally, each building on the one that preceded it in ways that are unexpected and challenging. Off the tail of the final Krule contribution, comes “Slow”, a punchier and ironically pacier track that hums in and out with surges of tinny and industrial sounding samples.
Another particularly memorable transition is that between the penultimate track, “Sullen Ground”, which is scattered with weighted shuffles and deep vocals, only to be chased by the delicate and bright finale, “Fall Out.”
Mount Kimbie have certainly not lost the frenetic intensity, alluring bleeps, and monumental synth shifts that marked them as pioneers of ‘post-dubstep’ with their debut; they have simply built on their first effort to create something that is nothing short of a musical and emotional expedition.
