Stay Down

Two Lone Swordsmen is another project involving Andrew Weatherall, who has consistently proven himself equally talented with production and composition; Stay Down is not as rock-oriented as much of his work, taking its cues instead from dub and ambient soundscapes, but without abandoning Weatherall's C-86 and Manchester house roots. Stay Down's fusion of all four influences is nothing short of amazing, taking largely electronic sounds into areas far more composed than the typically repetitive club-oriented releases that dominate some areas of the genre — rather than leading electronic sounds down the path of their own conventions, the album shapes them into compositions that could just as easily be performed on organic instruments, meaning that the use of intricate production and sound manipulation is really just the texture of the recording, rather than its raison d'etre. It's an approach that's not used as often as many listeners might wish — and as Stay Down once again demonstrates, it's an approach that typically makes for excellent albums.