His voice has recently played a bigger role in the work of Larry McCarthy as Bruce, lending his his »sad-boi« vocals to the EP »Invisible« by XRA, his joint project with Lurka. Nevertheless, »Not« for the Bristol institution Timedance comes as a surprise: McCarthy reinvents himself as a languorous bard with electronic art pop instead of bassy dance music. If the Future R’n’B descriptor hadn’t gathered dust by now, it could perhaps be applied here. The press release mentions Scott Walker as a reference and that seems to be a crude comparison, perhaps most applicable on »Lassoo«: HIs voice climbs up and down while New Age-inspired chords play, overall making it seem as if someone had put Sade through the Deconstructed Club mixer. However, another namecheck—David Sylvian—somehow hits the mark: like the former Japan singer, McCarthy builds elaborate songs that are driven by complex yet discreet rhythms and full of strange, ambient-like sounds, which sets the stage for him as an unconventional singer. There are a few echoes of conventional dance music, which sometimes call to mind the abstract R’n’B approach of Smerz. Especially when McCarthy’s voice enters the higher registers, as in »Flakes« with its gentle double bass line, the hit potential becomes obvious: Much like that of the early James Blake, this music comes from the leftfield and aims straight at the heart. »Not« is certainly the most unusual release from a producer whose work is characterised by unexpected decisions and thus surprises, but also one of his best.
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