By Grant Kelly, Contributor

[Hyperdub; 2023]

Rating: 7/10

Key Tracks: “Déjà Vu”, “I DM U”, “Cards With the Grandparents”

Gentle Confrontation is the fifth album by British experimental electronic musician Loraine James, and her third under the Hyperdub label. Like many of the other boundary-pushing artists under the UK label, the album makes it clear within the first couple tracks that James is more than willing to defy conventions in whichever genre you choose to assign her music. The album’s sonic palette flirts with elements of IDM, ambient music, singer-songwriter, and the occasional fragmented dance beat, all filtered through a gauzy layer of glitching digital effects. 

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Throughout its runtime, Gentle Confrontation reveals itself to be especially pertinent to James’ own life. The album’s Bandcamp page describes it as “the record a teenage Loraine would like to have made, with musical tendencies that reflect that time, too”, and the musical choices observed throughout the album certainly reflect that transient state of mind. 

The first two tracks introduce you to James’ narrative voice used throughout the album. She uses brief sets of abstract, very stream-of-consciousness lyrics that get repeated over eerie looping ambient sounds to give you a sense of what each track is about, but through the lens of a foggy, confused mental state that often accompanies dealing with loss. 

“2003” is a perfect example of this concept, with lyrics that reflect on dealing with her father’s passing at a young age. However, the comforting familial scenes depicted in the lyrics are broken up and distorted by repeated phrases that brilliantly portray the frustration of trying to grapple with something like death, which is ultimately impossible to understand. 

“Cards With The Grandparents” is another excellent iteration of this idea, with James reminiscing on fond memories of her grandparents, alongside what sounds like a recording of the three of them playing cards. The song carries a similarly melancholic feel to it, with James acknowledging their old age, and how she wishes she could spend more time with them while she still has the chance. 

In addition to the clever use of storytelling across the album, James also employs a lot of attention-grabbing sound design on many of the songs. “Déjà Vu”, which features vocals from RiTchie (of Injury Reserve fame), continues to develop on the album’s atmosphere by incorporating busier electronic beats, as well as an instrumental arrangement that continually blurs the line between organic and digital textures. 

“I DM U” may be the most exciting track on the album, beginning with a crackling, glitchy melody that struggles to gain its footing, before it then takes a sudden turn with the injection of some rapid, jazz-inspired live drumming. The song flows gracefully, and each crescendo and release feels like a deep, reinvigorating exhale. The song is an exhilarating display of James’ compositional skills beyond just her lyrics.

While the album is never less than pleasant, my one complaint with it is that I think it goes on longer than it needs to. The songs on the last leg of the album are a little unmemorable, and I feel it could have had a much stronger impact overall if it were trimmed down. Even so, Gentle Confrontation is clearly an album brimming with creativity and passion, and it has plenty of stunning moments of beauty and vulnerability that make it worth your time. 

Listen Here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6t8EEPPBUhJiYucv3zsIKx?si=H1BkDGP0TNSmmMjUt66ZHg