Staff Reviews

Matthew Dear - Beams

Review by Sean Thomas

There's no doubt that the familiarity of Matthew Dear's style after several records means Beams has to work a bit harder to hold your attention than previous efforts.»

User reviews

• 8/10 by tphrthms

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limited double cd version with a bonus 6 track cd. 'beams' is the new york-based artist's fourth full-length, his first since 2010's shadowy masterpiece 'black city'. 'beams' is the latest transmission from one of pop music's most fascinating creative minds. recorded in dear's home studio and mixed at nicolas vernhes' rare book room studios in brooklyn, 'beams' evokes a day-lit dreamworld at once strange and familiar. while the album's dancefloor-ready tempos, major keys, and sun-warmed synths signal beams as the lighter, brighter response to its predecessor, closer inspection reveals a squirming mass of oddball details. dear's latest productions creak and groan like anxious organisms, with slivers of guitar, electric bass, and drum kit darting in and out among the synths and samples. beams delights in thoughtful leftfield juxtapositions: the leathery, handclap-heavy funk of 'up and out' barrels into the anxious wig-out of 'overtime'; the dark, burbling dirge 'shake me' sets the stage for the melancholic simmer of album closer 'temptation'.
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