the numero groups dive into the deep end of americas private press continues. having battled the witches and wizards of darkscorch, the outlaws of cosmic americana, and traveled alongside ladies from the canyon and their lonesome heroes, its time to take it easy. with pop musics volume knob adjusted for deflation in the early 70s, softness begat smoothness. crewmen arrived from the worlds of jazz, folk, rock, and soul, all peddling a product that was sincere, leisurely, and lofty. a sound that was buoyant, crisp, defined. sometimes classified as west coast and, later, yacht rock the compass points of our private yacht expedition are the blue-eyed harmonies of hall and oates, the cocaine-dusted fender rhodes of michael mcdonald, and the combover strums of james taylor. here, at the glassy apex of rocks softer side, 20 strong swimmers are gathered together. an album for both relaxation and reflection, where listeners can enjoy the present, a cool breeze, and a taste of the good life.

this is an album of deeply emotional music. it s not all heartfelt niceties and eye-welling moods though. rhythmic theory did after all come to light (or should that be dark) in the gloomy alleyways of uk soundsystem music begat from dubstep and all that other stuff. -creeper- is on hand to affirm that this is a record still steeped in true, stern moodiness, where a stalking sub line, some metallic percussion and an icy drone can still strike fear more than a thousand angry wobble basslines. it s worth noting how much attention has been given to shorter vignettes. as well as the aforementioned, cryptically titled -interlude-, -work of fiction- and -end (of forever)- both give insights into the places rhythmic theory cares to roam beyond the structure of a long form track. these are places where melancholic or downright ambiguous dispositions interplay with each other, from the synthetic to the earthly, the malevolent to the tender. in the end, even at its most monochromatic, nothing is black and white on rhythmic theory s debut album, and that s just fine with us.