- Bored Lord goes deep on late '80s breakbeat hardcore in a tribute that builds on the legacy of some of the UK's most beloved dance music.
- "I didn't really know it was such a unique thing because I'm pretty much directly referencing early Reinforced records," Daria Lourd told Resident Advisor's Kiana Mickles in her Breaking Through feature earlier this month. She was talking about her sample-oriented productions, particularly the cheeky edits that made her famous—breakbeat versions of tracks by Nirvana, Slipknot and other curiosities, along with the more typical R&B and soul vocal samples. She has a point. Even when she's working with what some people would consider outré source material, Lourd is making music that's part of a lineage that goes back to the late '80s, when combining breakbeats with pitched-up vocal clips was cutting-edge and futuristic. (To many people, including this writer, it still is.) That scene's influence is clearer than ever on Name It, a celebratory and life-affirming album on T4T LUV NRG that harnesses not only the power of classic UK breakbeat hardcore, but also its potential for messaging.
The title Name It essentially means: "verbalise your emotions." Name the feeling, acknowledge it, manifest it. As a result, many of the tracks on the LP have samples that function as slogans: "Rhythmatic movements in unison with others" goes the voice on "With Others," "I believe there's more" on "Believe," "Feel it forever" on "Feel It." These words are as much commands as they are invitations, phrases to sear into your brain on the dance floor—Lourd's primary way of communicating with her audience. They also add a delirious pace to the music, matching her inspiration in ferocity and simplicity. These tunes hammer you over the head simply because they can.
Lourd's take on early rave music is remarkably faithful. The samples sound suitably dusty and lo-fi, compressed and claustrophobic like the records they're inspired by, and possibly sampled from. (Compare this to Scuba's bright and shiny version of hardcore on his equally excellent Digital Underground LP, released around the same time.) Opener "Luv" features an old-school call-and-response vocal, with breezy, early '90s-style strings that are reprised in several other tracks, notably the melancholy beginning of "Feel It," later pushed aside by a monstrous Reese bassline. "In My Soul" fast-forwards a few years to jungle, bolstered with jazzy sax licks and haunting Mellotron chords, while "Close My Eyes" nails the epic side of hardcore with its choral pads and distorted voice. The latter practically overheats to the point of charring.
Authenticity is what elevates Name It above mere copying. You can hear Lourd's signature in the way the voices repeat, almost frustratingly, on "There's More." The tracks are dynamic and unpredictable, often featuring abrupt changes in texture or rhythm. And her ear for unusual sounds, like decaying keyboards or ghostly pads, only makes the music seem more otherworldly, like a transmission from some other universe beamed through the vessel of Bored Lord. On "Look," the album's best track, all these things come together for an impressive workout. Slower, verse-style halftime sections and raucous drum & bass choruses, suspended in time between the '80s and '90s, pull together multiple eras into one placeless now. And that's what Lourd has always done, whether she's being purposefully referential or not. "Look" and the rest of Name It represents a new level for Lourd, not only living up to the legacy of her forebears but building on it, too.
Tracklist01. Luv
02. Feel It
03. There's More
04. Believe
05. With Others
06. Close My Eyes
07. Look
08. In My Soul