4 out of 5

Produced by: Neil Scrivin

Label: Fonolith

This is mighty slick, and fun as heck.

Neil Scrivin pitches us a world – via samples, via a lovely Tetris-era glitch groove vibe – in which video games are taking over, ready to play “at any pub in the country,” as the music’s occasional ‘narrator’ amusingly notes.  But rather than take a kitsch or overly satirical approach to this, Neil is a welcoming of this tomorrow world, with the inviting cover art (on this Fonolith re-presentation) of a “futuristic” TV with glowing text and engaged viewers, to the way the aforementioned narrator appears so bemused by the changes.  As such, the work inherits an immediate sense of joy, and we bounce along between each precise track – Neil knows how to get to the point but doesn’t rush things – until the end credits cool down, session completed, of closer Whatever Happened To…?  That the “story” is such an integral part of the experience is where the album loses some speed, as the tracks that are sample-less, and don’t directly toss off a video game inspired tune or tied-in sample, feel just a tad generic in comparison, despite still being very much fun.

A wonderful piece of electronica, blissed out in its own little retro world, repacked and remastered for our consumption by the artist’s own Fonolith label.