Released in October on Domino, Colourgrade is utterly infectious. It draws you in and bewitches you, holding you in its spell as it meanders and weaves through the corners of your mind. It’s an album that delivers on the promise of Tirzah’s 2018 debut, Devotion. That was a good album, if a wee bit hit and miss. This, by contrast, is like Legolas with a yew bow – it never misses.
It feels kinda sleepy and faraway, as if it’s been manufactured from gossamer thin strands of cobweb. Dubby, muffled basslines deliver a convincing bottom, working in tandem with glitchy beats. In so many ways it reminds me of Tricky’s Maxinquaye, with Tectonic being the perfect example. Of course, the pair have collaborated and it’s unfeasible to think that Tirzah hasn’t been influenced by the Bristolian trip-hop veteran.
Hive Mind, featuring Coby Sey, is the album’s stand out track, although the discordant Sleeping, the rise and fall of Send Me and the moody Beating run it close.
Colourgrade is a spellbinding album and one that I wager will not stray too far from the turntable for a while yet.
the dark flux 