SND - Tender Love

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 10 / 4 / 2002

Label: Mille Plateaux
Format: CD

intro

"Majestic" third release on the popular Mille Plateaux label from Sheffield based electronica duo

On their debut "Make SND cassette', the SND duo of Mark Fell and Mark Steel broke new ground for electronic music. Literally starting from and with scratches, their approach evolved, yet left me puzzled and intrigued. On their second album, last year's 'Stdio' I finally got the clue to SND. Similar to Jan Jelinek's "Loop-finding-jazzrecords', SND are stripping to the bones the sounds of folk and R & B. Logic has it, 2Step has to be next. The sound of SND (no pun intended) has become crystal clear without transperence or blandness. Fitting with the 'Tender Love' album title, the SND fuse together bare essentials and smooth flavoured 2Step rhythms. Hey, now don't get overexcited. 'Tender Love' features dry experiment and raw funk rather than gloss and beats. This gorgeously affective music marks SND's turn towards sophistication, yet does not conform to expectations. Well, forget my remarks on 2Step, as it is true but misleading at the same time. In a few years' time when the foam has died up on current popular 2Step, 'Tender Love' is the album you'll probably cherish. Depending on your guts you may want to skip the whipped up soap hype and to delve into this warm pool of glitsch floods, sprinkles and gentle R&B flows. Alluring body temperature coinciding with contemplation makes 'Tender Love' a majestic glow.

Track Listing:-