- A tender, often crushing record that also works as an ode to the IDM and emo of James' youth.
- Loraine James appeared like a bolt of lightning when she released For You and I, her debut Hyperdub album in 2019. Her command of electronic music production—she wrote her college thesis on it—was evident in its stormy mix of IDM, dubstep and grime. Inspired by the mischievous electronica of Dntel and Telefon Tel Aviv, she explored the person behind the machines and software. "Glitch Bitch" and "London Ting" came off as identifying statements, while tracks from 2021's Reflection, like "Simple Stuff" and "Self Doubt (Leaving the Club Early)," were revealing glimpses at her self-deprecating personality.
Gentle Confrontation, James's third album for Hyperdub (and sixth overall), fully exposes her inner dialogue. She shares intimate details about her upbringing and exposes her own artistic insecurities over skittering, restless beats. At 16 songs and with impressive guest features, it's a sprawling portrait of James, one with mostly dark and subdued tones.
"I feel very tired / I feel very bored," James says on the opening track. Meanwhile, a tornado of dissonant strings and clattering drums swirls around her. Most of the lyrics on the album read like diary entries from her past and present. On "2003," she recounts the feelings she had as a child after her father's death. "When I was seven / My dad went to heaven," she sings before addressing her uncertainty with a simple "possibly." With a hushed, unadorned delivery and under an eerie array of vocal samples, she pleads for closure. It's a heartbreaking song, and by far her most personal.
Stress and anxiety follow her collaborators throughout the album. R&B singer KeiyaA and Injury Reserve's RiTchie with a T give delicate, shape-shifting performances over James' moody glitch. The former's voice is slathered in Autotune as she weeps about her body falling into pieces. In "Prelude to Tired of Me," James sings about losing her own identity. "I'm my own person but I don't get this version," she says. Later in the album, on "Disjointed (Feeling Like a Kid Again)", the layers of her voice clash against themselves, relenting and saying there's "nothing we can do."
James takes a couple of well-executed breaks during the album to remember the music of her teenage years. "I DM U '' showcases a fiery drum solo from Morgan Simpson of prog-rock group black midi laid over gothic keys. Following it is "One Way Ticket to the Midwest (Emo)", a calming palette cleanser. With its interweaving harp plucks and twinkling guitar from New Jersey artist Corey Mastrangelo, it serves as an ode to the gentler, warmer influences behind her music.
The indecision and self-doubt James sings about can drag Gentle Confrontation's second half. Some tracks meander, unsure of what shape to take. Features from Marina Herlop, Eden Samara and George Riley glide and flutter over shifting chords and glitching beats, the parts never exactly fitting together into shape. "I Am Trying to Love Myself" shifts back and forth between a sample of Dntel's "Anywhere Anyone" and James's more overcast trap instrumental. The album's disorienting production and pained perspective leave behind a tender bruise, an experience as emotionally up and down as the lyrics and mood of the album. "To look me in my eyes, to know my strife," sings guest vocalist Contour on closer "Saying Goodbye." On Gentle Confrontation, it's a heavy load to bear, rewarding at times and crushing at others.
Tracklist01. Gentle Confrontation
02. 2003
03. Let U Go feat. KeiyaA
04. Déjà Vu feat. RiTchie
05. Prelude of Tired of Me
06. Glitch The System (Glitch Bitch 2)
07. I DM U
08. One Way Ticket To The Midwest (Emo) feat. Corey Mastrangelo
09. Cards With The Grandparents
10. While They Were Singing feat. Marina Herlop
11. Try For Me feat. Eden Samara
12. Tired of Me
13. Speechless feat. George Riley
14. Disjointed (Feeling Like A Kid Again)
15. I'm Trying To Love Myself
16. Saying Goodbye feat. Contour