Dol-Goy Assist is surprisingly Quinoline Yellow’s debut album for respected Manchester label Skam. Although he often appears at live events Dol-Goy Assist is his only his 4th release for the label and follows the LMW Motor 3″ CD, the Cryiack Parasol EP and a contribution to Skam’s acclaimed Smak series.
Consisting of 12 tracks, none of which exceed 5 minutes in length, Dol-Goy Assist a relatively short album. This, however, does not mean it lacks in quality. Busy but not confusing, complex but not overwhelming and crunchy but melodic go some way to building up a picture of the Quinoline Yellow’s sound. Filled with hi-tech whirs, industrial grinding and zapping synths, the music throbs and pulsates whilst fluid synths weave meandering patterns in the background. Somewhere in the mix is a nod back to classic electronic music, probably in those synths that accompany the bassy beats and crunchy glitches. Beats fly in from all directions in rapid succession but added to this is some floating textural ambience that calmly keeps the tone even and the beats in check. “Arnica” for example has a sublime bed of ambience flowing throughout but at the same time a parallel strain of glitched beats, whirs and chopped up voices criss-cross over the smooth melodic backdrop. Although the emphasis on beats and ambience switches from track to track – and even within the duration of a single track – everything fuses beautifully, the two styles never seem to clash, only compliment each other. The curiously titled “Sheep Dip” contains a furiously addictive break with a haunting melodic undercurrent that works perfectly. Dol-Goy Assist is quite a complex layered combination of sounds and textures but they sit together with alarming clarity to form an engaging finished sound.
Thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable, Dol-Goy Assist has just the right balance of glitchy hi-tech crunchy madness, deep thudding bass and catchy synths to make Quinoline Yellow’s debut a memorable listening experience. Looking forward to hearing more from him in the future and, having seen him live already, can recommend that experience too.
Dol-Goy Assist is out now on Skam.
