Movements is an assured if familiar-sounding record from Brian Ring, a Berlin-based Irishman making his debut on Running Back. Its house and disco hybrids lean on popular dance music samples—on "Come Out Your Comfort Zone," for instance, Mike Dunn's bassy tone offsets a chopped synopsis of the Mood II Swing classic "Move Me." It also introduces, through choral synth tones, a certain chilliness. Another feature of Movements is its smart use of vocal samples, deployed by Ring as a rhythmic device on "Come Out Your Comfort Zone" and "Movement Is My Friend."
On "Movement Is My Friend'—a Daft Punk-evoking track that, for me, just beats "Come Out Your Comfort Zone"—a revving bassline stamps itself on Ring's aqueous funk guitar. For all Ring's emphasis on grainy, organic textures, this synthetic touch really caught my attention. "Feel What You Want" is Movements' only misstep. Ring's drums turn a pleasant ambient swampiness into a trudge through tar—a trip that the vocal, reverbed to oblivion, seems ill-prepared for.
On "Movement Is My Friend'—a Daft Punk-evoking track that, for me, just beats "Come Out Your Comfort Zone"—a revving bassline stamps itself on Ring's aqueous funk guitar. For all Ring's emphasis on grainy, organic textures, this synthetic touch really caught my attention. "Feel What You Want" is Movements' only misstep. Ring's drums turn a pleasant ambient swampiness into a trudge through tar—a trip that the vocal, reverbed to oblivion, seems ill-prepared for.
Berlin
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