Seven Davis Jr – Universes

Album Review by Andrew Gordon | 08 Jul 2015
Album title: Universes
Artist: Seven Davis Jr
Label: Ninja Tune
Release date: 24 July

Universes’ lead single is called Sunday Morning, but like most of the debut record from long term limelight shirker Seven Davis Jr., its overriding feeling is more akin to saturday morning cartoons: exceedingly playful, deliriously upbeat and bursting with energy and colour.

From the aforementioned maniacal detuned synth to Be a Man’s frantic double bass or Freedom’s perpetually ascending lead, the record’s first half doesn’t so much aim to get you moving as it does work you into a hyperactive frenzy, often to the point that Davis himself seems to struggle fitting in his lines.

Fighters, though – a slower, suddenly serious track about reactionary violence – marks a jarring change in tone, its amorphous beat and meandering vocals initiating a late experimental turn that yields mixed results. Welcome Back, with its atonal shuffle, is as trippy as it is messy, yet even at its most off-kilter there’s an endearing optimism to Davis’ music. 

http://ninjatune.net/artist/seven-davis-jr