Released: July 12
One of Britain’s biggest names in electronic music thanks to his decades-long work as a member of Hot Chip and The 2 Bears, Joe Goddard returns with his third solo album ‘Harmonics’ and a celebration of the collaborative process.
His first release in seven years – the follow up to 2017’s ‘Electric Lines’ – the LP spans 14 songs with a heavy-hitting line-up of collaborators including Ibibio Sound Machine’s Eno Williams, rapper Oranje, former Wild Beasts frontman Hayden Thorpe, Tom McFarland of Jungle, singer Fiorious, vocalist Falle Nioke, jazz musician Alabaster DePlume, and Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor and Al Doyle.
It makes for a blend of styles and sounds that, on paper, reads more like a mixtape than a coherent record, but with Goddard at the helm ‘Harmonics’ becomes a cohesive and unified body of work that touches upon elements of house, hip-hop, pop and disco while sustaining a core identity.
Recorded out of the studio in Shoreditch, east London that he runs with Doyle, it proved to be the creative hub for ‘Harmonics’ and central to his ambition to make a record that wasn’t entirely remote. Opener Moments Die with Barrie radiates warmth with a mid-tempo vibe that lures the listener in, before catapulting them into a sonic journey through the pulsing house track Progress, grime-leaning When Love’s Out Of Fashion and disco-inflected Summon.
Destiny brings a commercial pop flair that demonstrates Goddard’s knack for crafting chart staples, while the brooding Mountains and Ghosts juxtapose his signature electronics with emotive vocal performances that breathe life into each number.
Impressively, each guest is perfectly positioned to deliver what the track requires and what starts out as a musical who’s who becomes a strong collective of players whose contributions come together to complement and enhance the collaborative effort.
A trio of tracks – Follow You, On My Mind and Out At Night – are solo endeavours, featuring vocals from Goddard who carries each number with ease. Although not as instant as other cuts from the project, they spotlight his overall influence on the LP as the driving force behind the music.
A bold vision, ‘Harmonics’ is a musical triumph that pushes the boundaries of genre and proves Goddard not only to be one of Britain’s best electronic musicians, but a visionary capable of executing and delivering time and time again.
