Unusual Suspects - Twisted

Albums this good don’t come along very often. In fact, you’re unlikely to come across a more rounded, mature, colourful and full-on album this year. Younger Brother kicks things off with forthcoming single The Finger, perfect for those who believe that trance doesn’t take people on a journey like it used to. It’s full or warpy noises, melodies dancing with antimelodies, and a brilliant midsection before a smooth but kicking buildup into a real hallucinogenic peak. Simon Posford teams up with Dimitri as DSP with Have A Good Time (All The Time), a nice gurgly piece of trance with a phased to phuck end section. Tristan’s Fortean Times is just as moody and dark as you’d expect, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly’s Mescalito is a belting outdoor freeparty monster. Prometheus brings in smooth pads, rolling acid and chunky stabs with Mekong Delta, a sublime piece of trance with a chant-led break giving way to a deep rising undercurrent. Simon Posford teams up with Infected Mushroom for Fly Agaric’s I See Myself, with a twisted looped vocal and a full on steamengine kick. And to close things off, Total Eclipse add their trademark sounds to their remix of Shpongle’s Dorset Perception. Utter standout however is Twisted Allstars’ Blue Sky on Mars. Simon Posford, Tristan, Serge from Total Eclipse and Riktam from GMS get together for possibly the ultimate trance supergroup, and it’s killer. Trance this powerful is hard to come by: everything is in the right place, the melody is gorgeous, the samples are perfect, and it’s just got layer after layer of psychedelic goodness. Top notch all the way, this is how trance albums should be: powerful, atmospheric, kicking, immaculately produced, and utter quality all the way.