Maid Of Gold

This album is a bizarre and challenging blend of effects, styles, and eerie feel that seeps into the listener early on. The introductory "Table of Context" has a haunting, desolate quality to it with samples slowly coming to the fore. It finally settles into a subdued jazz feeling before leading into the title track, a slightly trip-hop number in the vein of Massive Attack or Portishead. The tandem of Sixtoo and Stigg of the Dump experiment a bit more on "Things Told," bringing to mind UNKLE as it ambles along with a distant hip-hop beat. In some instances though, it's more electronic dawdling than creativity, especially on the ambient-tinted "Paper, Boxcutter, Rock." There are some stronger tracks though, particularly the off-kiltered tempo of "Duppies," creating an ominous vibe from the onset. But perhaps the highlight is the minimal yet infectious rhythms and percussion laid out on "Cracktivity." After a passable and melodic "Herd Whispers," Villain Accelerate opt for a brasher, harder urban sound on "Rookie Card." One problem with the album though is how some tracks seem close replicas or either earlier or preceding songs such as "Worried.Look" and "Pitch.Control," the latter being a tad edgier. The first non-instrumental tune is "Surgery," a refreshing change that should be placed lower in the track listing. A mellow "When I Was Your Age" concludes the record.