London artist Sam Akpro’s full-length debut Evenfall has a unique beauty, which lies in its unsettlingly claustrophobic feel. The album incorporates influences from hip hop to jazz to grunge, contained in a hauntingly beautiful yet suffocating sonic package that’s like a time bomb waiting to explode.

“I Can’t See The Sun” has noisy guitar feedback and dissonant saxophones buried underneath the calmness of groovy bass and jazzy drums in the foreground, while Akpro sings—almost like he is rapping—cool as a cucumber. This song has all the hallmarks of trip hop with its unconventional mishmash of styles and a dark undertone, as does the rest of Evenfall.

“Death By Entertainment” has an industrial rock aggression with coarse bass, cacophonous guitar feedback, and a frenzied rhythm. But all of this anger is smothered, so while you feel the aggression, you do not hear it: a clever play with sounds, which Akpro does so well throughout this record. Similarly, “Evenfall” has an agitated undertone with angsty guitars and disconcerting sounds in the background. But in the foreground, all is placid, with Akpro’s tender but disaffected singing, which is more powerful than the rage in the back.

Then there are tracks like “Cornering Lights” and “City Sleeps,” that although chill and funky with the grooviness of seventies soul music, still have a dystopian bleakness to them.

In a way, it makes sense to draw parallels between Evenfall and Tricky’s solo debut—and trip hop classic—Maxinquae in terms of their mastery in creating chaos by way of complex soundscapes that don’t jump at the listener as much as linger in the listener’s subconsciousness. Evenfall does not have the ambition or the hubris of Maxinquae. However, with its clever incorporation of different genres and deft instrumentation combined with sharp production, Evenfall has the semblance of trip hop music—including music by Tricky’s band Massive Attack—that made this genre beloved to many during its heyday. Although trip hop is not as fashionable these days, as an up-and-coming artist, Akpro is making us fall in love with this music all over again.

Rating: A-

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