Monobox - Film / Rectangle

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  • In celebration of M-Plant's 20th anniversary, we've been promised a slew of records that rework or respond to some of Robert Hood's finest material. What's been most gratifying about this so far is how little it has looked like a heritage exercise. Yes, there have been updates of classics—both from Hood himself and Mark Broom. But the year's greatest triumph so far has been the "Re-Plants" of Floorplan material from just last year. Hood continues to keep things fresh with this single, which features a pair of originals under the Monobox alias. Monobox set out to, in the producer's own words, "approach minimalism from an alien futuristic perspective." The result, across a trio of M-Plant singles around the turn of the millennium, was a spare, metallic sound—the opposite, in other words, of Floorplan's gospel-derived warmth. This single is an adequate, if slightly workmanlike updating of that sound. "Film" follows a well-worn Hood formula to the letter—the rounded kick, the graceful midrange synth figure, the slowly blossoming arrangement. Smudges of dissonance add tension, but at this point in Hood's career we all know how things are going to end. "Rectangle" is more striking, mainly for its dappled synth chords, another Hood staple, but one excellently deployed. The way their glimmering, fragile light contrasts with the righteous stomp of the groove is delicious. In Hood's universe, these simple dramas can be all that's required.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Film B1 Rectangle
RA