ACRN.COM

By: Grant Kelly, Contributor

[Warner Music UK; 2024]

Rating: 6/10

In 2022, rising UK house star Fred again.. unleashed USB into the world, a constantly-evolving, streamable compilation album that he has gradually been adding to ever since. “ItsNotREEAALLLLLLLL” and “BerwynGesaffNeighbours” are the newest additions to this unusual project, which coincide with the first physical issue of the album, set to release in June of 2024. While I was unfamiliar with USB and its concept prior to the release of these two tracks, I think they make a solid first impression!

Read More: Album Review: Jlin – Akoma

“ItsNotREEAALLLLLLLL” is a fun modern house track, with a tantalizingly deep groove and an airy, tremolo-drenched vocal sample, in line with the choppy “stutter house” sound Fred again.. has come to be associated with online. The track is well-balanced, with a thumping bass that’s as satisfying to listen to over headphones as I imagine it would be through a live sound system. 

The following “BerwynGesaffNeighbours” takes a bit of an awkward detour, in my opinion, but it’s not a bad track by any means. The track starts much slower than the previous, with an imposing bass wobble and insistent vocalist that keeps repeating, “F*ck the neighbors / Turn the music up.” In isolation, the track feels like a step back dynamically, or as though it’s missing context, and I think it could be more effective as an opening track, or just as a segue out of a pause during a live show or DJ set. 

While nothing particularly revolutionary from Fred again..’s established sound, these two new songs are an exciting and worthy addition to a project that creatively explores how we interact with music in the modern age. 

Listen here: