Independence

Independence is Kosheen‘s fourth studio album released on October 1, 2012

There’s darkness mixed with light, there’s propulsive full steam ahead floor-fillers mixed with lonesome spotlight moments, and there’s even a sense of the cinematic at times. Sian Evans’ distinct vocals, meanwhile, provide a worthy focal point, guiding you through the various moods that the album seeks to evoke.

The album kicks off in suitably impressive style with the dark, foreboding but utterly insistent dark electronic of ‘Addict‘, before hitting you with the slightly more radio-friendly ‘Get A New One‘. ‘Bella Donna‘, for instance, has a ghostly synth sound to it and some subtler beats to emerge as one of the early highlights, while ‘Dependency‘ continues the theme of addiction encountered on the opener, albeit with propulsive beats and a near drum & bass intensity. ‘Manic‘, meanwhile, continues the dark energy with a throbbing bassline, some interesting bleeps and a really great chorus that brings out a haunted, foreboding quality in Evans’ vocals. Further highlights come in the form of ‘Enter’, which again thrives off the decision to slow the tempo yet remain atmospheric, while ‘Waste‘ is a fantastic slice of electro-pop that contains one of the most radio friendly choruses on the LP. Energetic dance track ‘Spies‘ rounds things off to bring the curtain down on a really great listen.