aaamusic | On 20, Oct 2013

Nightmares on Wax is DJ and electronic composer, George Evelyn, from Leeds. Feelin’ Good is his fifth album offering, released on the 16th September.

I am writing this review in a coffee shop, where the music perfectly compliments the hum of general chatter and the squeal of the coffee machine’s steamer that seeps around my headphones. This is the album for an ultra-mod art gallery or a day spa – scenarios where something needs to be in the background without lyrics to concentrate on so you can focus on what you’re doing – which would probably be chilling out and relaxing.

I wouldn’t go into my music with the intention of playing Feelin’ Good, though if a song came on shuffle – as long as I was writing an article or lazing about – I wouldn’t change it. ‘So Here We Are’ begins the album, with the sounds of birds intertwined with the fluid sounds of brass. Serving as the introduction of the album, the build up leaves you craving for something to happen – though it never does. After four minutes, I felt positively worn out from a build up that never came to anything. There are times in the album where sections are repeated so much that I just wanted the track to be over. It’s like a grandparent stressing every detail in a simple story – all too much and very unnecessary.

As this is a genre of music that I have never properly delved into, I undertook a crash course in all things Nightmares on Wax. However I felt as though listening to his previous albums felt like the extended version of Feelin’ Good. George Evelyn has brought in a richer sound with the use of a full orchestra as opposed to a more computerized sound. However, the underlying idea of the tracks is the same as his previous work.

Forgive me if my electronic-genre untrained ears aren’t hearing something that is fundamentally different, but I don’t feel as though the introduction of a full orchestra live backing legitimizes George Evelyn’s claim that this album is a huge change for him musically.

Tracks that are spelt in text language such as ‘There4u’ infuriate me, with any intelligent creativity in the music being cancelled out. The songs would have to be amazing to make up for it. Surprisingly, ‘Give Thx’ very nearly achieved this and is probably my favourite track off the album. However, ‘There4u’ is quite boring.

If you’re a fan of previous Nightmares on Wax, then you will enjoy this album. However, I think that while Feelin’ Good has been an unexpected change in my music library, I think I’ll stick to what I’ve got.

★★★★★

Rachael Pilkington