The Pop Corporation

When SBTRKT were around last time, they were known for their forward thinking dancefloor chuggers, designed for those kids who weren’t necessarily into dance music and a bit frightened of Techno Lads on pills, but still wanted to scuff their sneakers up on the dirty dancefloors. ‘Pharaohs’ and ‘Wildlife’ were solid gold bangers, but in 2023, things have moved on a bit, so where do SBTRKT fit in?

Well, there’s the new LP called ‘The Rat Road’ and we’re about to find out, right? In a space SBTRKT once resided in, it’s kinda been filled in by the likes of KAYTRANADA and Sault, and with the latter, it certainly feels like Aaron Jerome (SBTRKT’s real name, obvs) have been taking some notes, with many of the new LP’s tracks feeling more thoughtful and spiritual.

Long gone is the funny mask, and in with a rather long album which is pleasingly varied, but also, with varied LPs, comes a smidge of frustration. The collabs are here again, and for fans of Sampha, you’ll be thrilled they’ve returned. On ‘Limitless’, it’s a heady, woozy affair that’s for the headphones rather than the Friday night, while on ‘Days Go By’, it’s the sound of Saturday afternoon looking for loud graphic tees in Urban Outfitters – so not bad at all, really, even if it sounded like a diss.

Toro Y Moi features a couple of times with some bubbling graphic designer pop, again, not shaking anything at any dancefloor, but they’re pleasing and wonky enough to warrant a couple of wry grins, if a little groggy. Interestingly, it’s on the record-collector bullshit ones where the LP is most interesting. ‘Drift’ (avec Leilah) is a cool slice of hipster R&B, and on ‘Go To Ground’ a hot piece of cut-n-paste spiritual jazz that really tickles the pickles. We just wish it was longer.

‘You Love’ is frantic early ’90s breakbeat, junglish mayhem and will sound great while you’re bombing down the motorway on a midweek drive back from a booty call. And if you’re looking for some waspy, synthy bops, this LP is probably going to leave you wanting. The title track might be the most conventional 4/4 you’ll hear on the album, but it’s not student disco time, rather, a claustrophobic groove lost in a bag of weed rather than getting down with your miaow miaow or whatever you were taking when the last album came out.

Little Dragon, who pretty much aces it on every collaboration, is here on the LP closer and electronic hymnal ‘I See A Stair’ which is a great thing to listen to, but again, very much for the backroom, not the dancefloor.

And maybe it’s on us that we were expecting someone to have had the same ideas over a decade after their hip-to-the-lip debut smash? It invariably is. It’s intentionally disjointed and rather than applying your night out head to this, you might want to remind yourself of how much you loved listening to Tricky or mid-period Massive Attack, or even Frank Ocean’s bitty output.

The success of this album entirely depends on how you approach it. You won’t be getting what you heard in 2011 – but if you’ve been keeping up and liked ‘Save Yourself’ and ‘Wonder Where We Land’, this will be welcomed.

It’s a generous thing with an avalanche of ideas, that’s for sure.