- Cubenx's sound is well suited to the full-length, and the Mexican producer seems to know it. Since his 2011 debut LP, On Your Own Again, he's only released three EPs, none of which have the impact of his sophomore album, Elegiac. It works partially because he doesn't make straight house or techno, but instead trades in a brand of grandiose electronic music that channels the likes of Northern Exposure-era Sasha, Depeche Mode and Future Sound Of London. It might not be the most contemporary sound in 2015, but the Paris-based InFiné artist sure nails it.
Elegiac lies further from the dance floor than its predecessor. Even when Cubenx's glassy, cavernous tracks have beats, they're never the main focus. Instead, they serve as a loose anchor for all manner of sweeping, oversized chords, proggy guitar licks and ethereal drones. And that's the thing about this album: it's not concentrated around a groove, but always jumping off in all directions.
There's nothing shy about Elegiac. The music is proudly self-indulgent in its sadness, often wearing a broken heart on its sleeve, which could be divisive for anyone who likes a more resolute brand of blues. Nonetheless, the poignant cloud breaks and passages of anti-gravity ambience will soothe busy brains, as will the exquisite details. Rain drops shimmer, blanketed with reverb, brushed metallic surfaces counter carefully plucked guitars, breakbeats nestle with trilling harps. The distant, pained vocals, like Mexican singer Cyané on "Drizzling Lemon Pearls," also enchant. Throughout Elegiac, moods are never less than melodramatic. Cubenx knows how to bring his tracks to life with a sharp ray of light, adding definition to an otherwise monochrome palette.
Tracklist01. F.All
02. Drizzling Lemon Pearls feat. Cyané
03. Treasures
04. Our Fire
05. Flaneur
06. Banquet feat. Pris Wayland
07. Blindfold feat. Yasmine Hamdan
08. Ryo
09. Peacefully Sinking feat. Born In Flamez
10. Roßbach
11. A Sheltering Sky