Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise (2011)

One man, one Jaar. Hey, come on, it had to be said. If you didn't see that one coming, then you must lack some imagination or live a rather sheltered life in the internet realm - though, I 'm not really sure if that''s a big deal, considering being out in the real world is more important, maaaaaaaan. Speaking of lacking imagination, Space Is Only Noise, the debut album by Nicolas Jaar, is definitely far from lacking imagination. It is an album that has ambition, and it's one of the more aurally satiisfying albums of 2011 thus far.

It's very sparse, and should be listened to as more of an ambient experience moreso than a standard microhouse album. The album flows effortlessly from song to song, and the transitions are so unnoticeable that you'll be on track five in no time. Though that sounds good, it can be a little bit of an annoyance, mainly that's because the album will be over and you would've probably expected the album to end in a much better fashion. Then again, that's just a personal gripe that I have with the album, and I doubt that would affect most listeners. Another thing that slightly irritates me is that the album gets a little confusing - at times you'll be subdued by ambience, and then another song comes in and starts to ease you into a small groove that gets you thinking "Ah, right. The album must be going somewhere because it's picking up pace". By the time you get to the next track, you're back into ambience again, so then your mind is all "What the fuck?!"

Still though, even given some of its shortcomings, at least the album does seem to break away from conventional music. It has all the ambition there, but it seems that it didn't come together in the greatest way. It's actually a very hard album to describe, as once you've listened to it, your mind is just blank. I mean, you will enjoy the experience, but you'll find it indescribable. I'm not the type of person to act under pretense, so I'm not going to throw around a bunch of metaphors, and start talking about trees and shit, because I'm not a faggot, so I won't try and describe it. Instead, it's up to you to check it out. If you can form a full opinion on the album, then good shit. Pat yourself on the back.

7.5