Review: Sherwood & Pinch - Man vs. Sofa

Taking a look at what graced the stage during 2017 that I invariably missed, AllMusic.com and AOTY.com are superb tools to search for - and cross-reference - Electronic artists across the genre.

I am now back to downloading albums at the rate of 3-5 a week and immersing myself in all elements from House, Dubstep, Ambient, Techno, IDM, Glitch and others. This effort from Sherwood & Pinch deserves very special mention indeed.

The overall feel of this effort from the erstwhile DJs (Adrian Sherwood and Rob "Pinch" Ellis) is total cohesion and a well thought out offering which takes some very complex beat patterns and samples, and utilizes some really nice piano pieces to enhance the tension and brutality of the delivery.

"Roll Call" opens the album in a pseudo sinister way with ominous synths and samples twisting through the rhythms.

"Itchy Face" has an incessant drumbeat (with an urgent tap-tap-tap-tap) whilst piano chords soften the intensity somewhat without diminishing the importance of their intent.

"Midnight Mindset" conjures visions of a 2am drive down a lonely motorway, as the sampling is akin to the sounds of speeding vehicles winding their way down the road.

"Lies" has a tribal kind of rhythm running through it together with the first vocal ably provided by Lee "Scratch" Perry. "God don't love lies" says Scratch, whilst sounding like he's sitting in the back of some dimly lit, smoke-filled jazz bar trying to conceal an unmentionable sin himself.

"Unlearn" takes techno beats to the fore and a squeaky bleep-bleep synth/cymbal combo alongside some eerie vocal samples throughout the track. It glides along beautifully, then disappears into the fadeout as gracefully as it arrived.

Title track "Man vs. Sofa" vibrates into view with light cymbal taps, echoes and blips before a grinding low resolution hum fizzes in and out, together with echoey piano voices and lighter beats making this a softer dub track.

"Charger" has a very juddering, stuttering undercurrent akin to Autechre without detracting from the thematic approach that has already been established: sinister and foreboding.

"Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence" covers the Ryuichi Sakamoto classic in a really lovely way with a great distorted sample/synth effect running through the track which makes it sound like it's broken somewhere during production. Very cleverly deployed.

If you wondered (as I did) why the piano is so good throughout it's because they used Martin Duffy (Primal Scream, Felt) on the entire album to great effect.

Next comes "Juggling Act" which takes a very straightforward approach to the beats, not trying to be a tectonic-plate-shifting track but using simplicity to win you over.

"Retribution" has a very futuristic and ethereal quality about its aesthetic, before breaking into Aphex Twin-style beats and glitchy sounds. Shimmering and bouncing as it does it's a glorious 3:52 for the ears.

Penultimate track "Gun Law" (featuring MC Taz) is a Grime anthem, and it is a wonderfully dirty, bassy, gritty affair that comes from both the heart and the mean streets.

We close with "Bullshit Detector", reaching back into Dub Reggae with some cheeky wobbling, echoed guitar twangs and Caribbean vocals for good measure, closing very aptly with the words "Pinch, and Mr Sherwood...it's all GOOD!"

To sum this up in the best way possibly, this is an absolute gem of an album, and it has singlehandedly renewed my faith in the Dub/Dubstep and Garage sub-genres which I had personally found a little inaccessible and samey over the last few years.

So easy to pick up and listen to, the ordering and flow of the album is perfect and Sherwood & Pinch have clearly found a way to collaborate that has worked so well on this effort, that it'll be hard to follow.

It's made me want more from these two, for sure.

Go listen!

10/10

Badger x