Indie electronica duo The Presets, made up of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes, waste no time getting down to the nitty gritty on their debut album “Beams.” Between the edgy basslines and melodious computer beats youwon’t know whether to run to the nearest dance floor or plug a Korg audio jack into your ear.
They kick the album off with “Steamworks,” a deliciously mellow instrumental piece with a steady beat that gives a taste of things to come.
“Are You the One,” jumps right into it, offering up a speedy abruptness that echoes a throwback to the’80s. Hamilton’s vocals on “Are You the One” and “Down Down Down” are a hot mess that only a Depeche Mode lover can truly appreciate. The listener meets the album’s finest accomplishment when they hit the fourth track. “Girl and The Sea” is the icing on the cake, an exquisite masterpiece combining dreamy electronicbeats and vocals so smooth and “spacey,” you’ll feel like you’re floating on a cloud above the rest.
Beams then throws two instrumentals into the mix, “Black Background” and “Worms” both spin worthy, but nowhere near as innovative or fresh sounding as the track before them, which makes them both look like yesterday’s leftovers.
“Hill Stuck” is yet another instrumental – soft and mellow, a short transitional track (as most of the instrumental’s prove to be) , which takes you to the last realm of album, whimpering the whole way there. “Girl (You Chew My Mind Up)” is quite possibly the funkiest “ditty” on the album. Moyes produces a bassline so dirty you may need to take a shower afterwards. As far as the lyrics are concerned, Hamilton does a brilliant job of stretching his distorted pipes to their limits, I felt his pain. “I Go Hard, I Go Home” is a road trip through the Mexican desert by moonlight, ebbing and flowing, mocking the Tijuana sound of bands such as Nortec Collective and Panoptica. The last calls, “Bad Up Your Betterness” and “Beams” serve as a gradual wind down for listeners, lucidly bringing it all together. Beams is a hypnotizing note which many musicians aspire to start their careers on.
If The Presets catchy keyboard taps and robotic basslines don’t make you want to “shake it like a saltshaker,” then I don’t know what will.