(06.03.07) Goldie is back with an album after a decade, and this fact alone should be some relevant news. Other details worth of notice are that he releases it on his own Metalheadz imprint (so, not a major for the first time ever), he chose Heist, almost a newcomer, as sound engineer, he is under his Rufige Kru alias and it’s more hardcore than what you may think. Gone away are all the vocals, the VIP featurings, the orchestras with all those strings, to say it in a word all the ‘cheesy’ stuff has been canceled, leaving a disc that is pure jungle from the beginning to the end.
“Vanilla” starts darkly with creepy hoovers and samples from old Metalheadz classics, “Shutting You Down” rolls with crisp drums and minimal synthetic vibes, with the bass seriously throbbing menacing pulses. The whole record seems to be recorded with bare minimum equipment and raw sounds, and this return to the old school definitely pays off. “Beez” for example is just a skeleton of breaks with a bunch of bleeps and buzzing synths (hence the title), with a style akin to the formula that kept alive the fame of the ‘Headz label through the years. After all, Goldie’s label is still heralded as one of the last consistent imprints within a scene that is getting more and more stale, so in the end it’s surely the better place whence to take inspiration. Back to the music, “Grouper” is another essential junglist anthem with rattling drums and warm, dirty bass sweeping all over the frequency range, “Special Request” is unbelievably gloomy with its pitched down vocals over a production that represents all that’s good about jungle.
Malice In Wonderland doesn’t come without flaws though, even they’re a minor issue: tracks like “Digital Warrior,” “Must Feel” and “Scar” are a bit too repetitive and not much catchy, they probably fit during a DJ set but on the CD version they’re kinda filler material. Anyway, by the time you hear “Pest Control,” you’ll instantly forgive any weakness found on this record, because it’s one of the most emotional d’n’b tunes ever made. In an interview, Loefah said he found most of the recent drum’n’bass material ‘soulless’ and then turned to slower rhythms and hence began to produce what would become dubstep, a genre that happens to have overshadowed d’n’b in most media for the last couple of years. Well, with “Pest Control” the term ‘soulless’ is totally out of place, the whole tune is a dramatic crescendo of epic intensity that should appeal even to those who don’t usually follow the fast beats of jungle. Actually, the end of the album is itself an epic journey with two other tracks, “Letting Go VIP” and “Malice In Wonderland,” so beautiful you should really buy the disc only to hear them.
To all this goodness, add a striking artwork and a booklet that is a huge foldout, with dark comics clearly based on Alice, a thing quite unusual for this genre and a juicy bonus for those who care. Everybody welcome back Goldie, it’s quite incredible how he managed to put out a record so adherent to its roots, considering all the success and media exposure he got in the past.
Malice In Wonderland is out now on Metalheadz. [Purchase
