Disclosure – Settle 9/10

PMR Records

The sound of summer is here, and it embodied by a British duo of brothers known as Disclosure. The 21 year old Guy and 18 year old Howard Lawrence have been around since 2010 (their claim to fame eventually being the remix of Jessie Ware’s “Running”), and even though they recently released a wonderful collection of singles in April, their freshman opus, Settle is of such force that it is difficult to pick out anything negative about it at all. Disclosure’s “sound” is a bit difficult to pin down, as it is a synthesis of an array of influences and genres. It may sound like straightforward house for moments, but then the listener gets hit with an unmistakable Dilla sample and it veers into something quite different. It is probably easiest to say that Disclosure roots are in garage music, but that they have made their own version of it. It simply sounds brighter. Even though their production may get grimy at times, it leaves one feeling as elated and clean as a newborn baby.

One of the highlights of the album is definitely the choice of guest vocalists. Howard and Guy have tapped into artists that are doing their own thing very well, which has the twofold effect of bolstering their own and their featured artist’s reputations through crossover appeal to each other’s audiences, as well as creating a sonic mix and match that seem to compliment each other perfectly. Aluna George adds her own brand of soul to the smash single “White Noise”, Jessie Ware emanates cool on “Confess To Me”, Sam Smith evokes unadulterated joy in “Latch”, Jamie Woon inserts his falsetto on “January”, and London Grammar brings a welcome amount of melancholy to “Help Me Lose My Mind”. Settle brings all these very different artists together in the best way possible, as the producers and the vocalists really both get the best of both worlds. Though some focus has been given to the large amount of guest vocalists that feature on the album, which can sometimes sound like a compilation, it is much to Disclosure’s credit that it is hard to imagine the album without them. This is a testament to their production genius, as each song sounds as if it was tailor made (and it most likely was) for each featured artist. The songs that do not feature anyone else are also extraordinary, namely the addictive intro “When A Fire Starts to Burn” with its’ addictive chant, the superb “Simulation” and “F for U”.

Despite strong showings in the past, it was hard to predict that someone could craft an album consisting exclusively of dance music THIS good, and Disclosure have managed to pull it off on their first try. They just have it. This is surely a sign of great things to come from them for years. Don’t Settle down, go party, and let Disclosure be the soundtrack to your summer on smash.