by Dom Lepore (@dom.lepore)
As echoed keys welcome melting synths, crushing drum loops knotted around a lustful, intimate voice awaken. That is how a.s.o. opens – the collaborative effort of eclectic house producer Lewie Day (Tornado Wallace) and singer Alia Seror-O’Neill (Alias Error) – and it is the modern reinvigoration of sleek ‘90s downtempo. The genre’s adjacent palettes of baggy and trip hop have already made a resurgence, and like that phenomenon, a.s.o.’s self-titled debut is authentic to their known and unknown influences. By matching the allure of early Sneaker Pimps and Bowery Electric’s scarcity on wax, a.s.o.’s mysterious guise is truly exciting.
What distinguishes a.s.o. from their predecessors is that those bands’ oft-gloomy and grimy soundscapes are instead drenched in a luxurious, glossy sheen. There is no savage imagery of an apocalyptic world, one carrying run-down metropolises or panic behind the Y2K turnover. These are simply murky, brooding laments. Meanwhile, the loops don’t induce comatose – very little musical stillness is present since a.s.o. is quite a lively record. Yet that doesn’t undermine its bleakness, as Seror-O’Neill’s voice, like an icier Elizabeth Fraser, entrenches a wounding narrative buried beneath the music’s attractive luster: “You act like I’m the one / Play with my heart for fun,” she dismissively says on “My Baby’s Got It Out For Me.” A picture of broken romance is served, conjuring an abrupt club exit while the night is still young, and the desperate escape to security. Defeat under a seductive facade is the crux of a.s.o. and is its staple trait.
Still, the trip hop worship and concurrent shoegaze and dream pop leanings cannot be understated. Certainly, it is easy to liken the duo’s entrancing hypnotism to Portishead, but I spot homages from other avenues. “Rain Down” is like Dido laying her majestic voice above a more daring, adventurous downtempo beat. “LITD pt.1,” the most cathartic moment for its sparsity, is a bass-heavy pause that rings beneath a cacophony of Seror-O’Neill’s choral harmonies – markedly recalls Laurel Halo. The centerpiece, “Love in the Darkness,” features a chugging, stripped-back groove muting the fantastical embellishments that comprise a Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas collaboration. Seror-O’Neill valiantly enters the melody like she’s Stevie Nicks, coating the song’s metallic textures with her caressing words. It plays out like a lost trip hop classic – it’s the duo’s Savage Garden moment, if you consider the album artwork – but only now has it been bestowed upon ears.
It’s not all moody – “Thinking” and “Understand” are some jollier moments – but they don’t detract from the album’s captivating appeal. a.s.o. is unequivocally the purest display of ‘90s-inspired trip hop in a very long time. The sudden collaboration between Day and Seror-O’Neill may be seen as meticulously crafted, almost calculatedly so, but perhaps it was to do justice to the genre’s frontrunners. I believe that – none of what’s sung translates as insincere.