- Second-guessing what West Norwood Cassette Library is going to do next has been like juggling water. In other words, impossible. But lately Bob Bhamra has seemingly settled close to sampleadelic house music. Missing You—the follow-up to last year's rattlingly good 8 Track Cartridge EP for Hypercolour—sticks with the format, but it takes a softer and at times quirkier approach.
"Missing You" is soaring, cut-up disco house, its stuttering breakbeat tickled by widescreen Salsoul strings, which give it a hint of Andrés' "New For U." Bhamra dials the intensity back a smidge on "Queen Bee," rolling out a Rhodes loop, strapping on an emotional soul vocal and more stirring strings. In fact, it's not until "What's The Sound?" that you reach a track that's close to the fervor of "8 Track Cartridge." It's a sparky, soulful update of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" with—whisper it—crossover potential, and a sting in its tail in the shape of a grin-inducing breakbeat. Bhamra then throws a curveball: "Clavichords" is an idiosyncratic DJ Scruff-style stomp with a pummeling clavichord loop that's embellished by conga slaps and chattering hi-hats. One thing's for sure—WNCL will never do ordinary.
Tracklist01. Missing You
02. Queen Bee
03. What's That Sound
04. Clavichords