- Lakeshore have dropped their debut album, aptly titled LP1. The far-out collab comes from minds of Matt Cook (previously of The Rational Academy and ASSEMBLY) and Jono Taylor (also known as Warcrimes and another ASSEMBLY member). The album arrives after the release of the single Always, in August of 2017. Like their respective solo efforts the album is full of twists and turns, breakneck beats and leftfield dance tracks.

The whole thing is fast. I guess most of it could be put under the umbrella of jungle or drum'n'bass (two genres I’m admittedly not well versed in). These leanings are evident in the scrapey drums of Productivity, Wild and Cloudrunning. Other tracks have more of a classic Detroit techno feel, like Moscow Dropout, which brings to mind Kevin Saunderson’s chord progressions with Inner City. Equally I dig the inquisitive chords of Timed, which has a similar feel.

Other curveballs are thrown: Those Nights almost sounds like a standard hip-hop track, albeit with a lot of room noise. As is typical of their production things getting weirder with some spectral synth leads and some breaks. Additionally, there are a number of ambient interludes thrown in for good measure. Route Eighty, 30-, and Fluorescents are good examples of this. Another noteworthy production element is the presence of ambient and room noise on many of the tracks. You don’t usually hear a squeaky chair or what sounds like a bird chirping on an album of electronic music – but it should happen more.

Lakeshore distils elements of both of its collaborators – from Cook’s penchant for techno and ambient to Taylor’s uptempo, frenzied drum programming. This might seem like an odd analogy but have a think about it and I think you'll agree, LP1 will resonate with fans of Idris Elba’s work in either The Wire, as a DJ, or in Pacific Rim. Weirdly it’s a combination of these three things and that is good.

- Hillfolk.