Star Dust – Moonstone Records

The release info describes the music on here as “neo-fullon” which makes my heart sink, but also as “dark and psychedelic” which makes it leap back up again. In truth, both these labels are completely misleading: Star Dust is a right old oddity, and while it’s approach to the music is undeniably new, whether it’s going to change the world is very much open to interpretation. Noga kicks the album off with Moksha Mania, which is nice enough. It’s smooth on the way up, and breaks nicely… nothing too much to write home about. It shares its pattern with a lot of the music on here – rather than the “build, break, doof, break, peak! We’re used to, this is more “build, break, peak, finish” which, if nothing else, should confuse DJs, which is always a good thing. Dooper Doopler (really) do well with Here It Comes, a tasty groove which cycles through four chords and works perfectly – they build the tension, they ease perfectly into the break, and things get kaleidoscopically funky. Spot on, and very different sounding – it’s just over too soon. And I have never before heard a tune that one could accurately describe as floppy: Mahamudra’s Metal Ethnic is exactly that. It’s a curio, but at the end of the day a high-end tickle isn’t enough to remind the dancefloor that the bar’s open, and its daft and patronising breakdown spoils it for whoever’s left; Troy form Tactic Mind is another interesting one, with squelched vocals over a disco-ey backbone. Visual Contact offer great promise with Naughty Boy, From the off it suggests classic potential and the twisty, elastic feel running through it works well. But the over-use of samples (half mumbles about consciousness, and half daft stock movie quotes) spoil it, and while it may be different, it seems to end without a conclusion. Tripteaser are up next with Heart Brain & Soul, a nice and energetic piece of melodic psytrance that has a fresh, just-baked sound. It moves very nicely, like a morning sunshine Silicon Sound, and it has this sort of magnetism that you can tell will bring people to the dancefloor – and once they’re there, it’s got enough to keep them locked. Freakulizer’s Summer’s Almost Gone and Electro Sun & Brain Damage’s Hypnotic Voices close the album in a fairly similar style, both big on the melodies and rushes, massive sounds which will undoubtedly sound great at the right time. All in all this is a likeable album, and well worth a listen. It weaves about in new ways, and it throws in some neat touches, but nothing here really raises the roof or the blood pressure.