Take “Hard Liquor”, the opening track. It’s more energetic than anything was on Tremors, with a beat and chorus that get stuck on your head for days. (I also love the “tremor” beat at the beginning of the track; it’s an acknowledgement of where SOHN is coming from even while he’s revealing where he’s going).

“Conrad”, on the other hand, melds this energy with a blues and soul rhythm that captures the style du jour without betraying SOHN’s sensibilities. That reveals a trend throughout the album: while SOHN’s electronic sound is always more soothing and restrained than some of his contemporaries, he’s not afraid to embrace trends.

At the same time, though, not everything here is trendy. “Proof” sounds like old-school Justin Timberlake melded with some of Radiohead’s ambitious stylings, a sound that certainly won’t be popular with many. Similarly, “Falling” feels like the most percussive track on Rennen. It reminds me so much of what Radiohead was doing with In Rainbows, or what Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor were playing with on The Social Network soundtrack.

For me, these tracks are the ones where SOHN eschews trends and embraces what he loves. They are, without a doubt, the best tracks on the record for my taste. But that’s not to say the rest of the record is bad; arguably, the presence of catchy and mainstream tracks like “Hard Liquor” make the experimentation of “Falling” so much sweeter.

The album’s pacing is impeccable. If there’s one thing that SOHN’s inarguably gotten better at, it’s pacing his record. It was hard to listen to Tremors on a loop. Each track was good, but the record’s overall pacing was fatiguing. With Rennen, that’s not the case.
I know many will disagree — and a lot of other critics already have — but I think Rennen is, taken as a whole, a better record than Tremors. It’s more accessible and has a stronger pacing, and SOHN is able to maintain his impeccable production and style even while he embraces more mainstream sounds.

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Tremors, SOHN’s debut record, proves that he has a voice all of his own and has something unique to add to the music scene.

Of all the tracks on the record, you might have heard The Wheel before, which is a fantastic way to introduce SOHN’s (if you don’t mind skipping the somewhat-less-exciting Tempest). SOHN’s voice, like the voices of those he’s produced, is enchanting and fairytale-like, making most of his music extremely listenable. Bloodflows breaks down into some intoxicating beats, and Artifice is darkly catchy — I could see it really taking off.

With artists like SOHN — the producers behind today’s popular music — it’s always hard to separate them from the music they make. With SOHN, it’s harder to separate his style from his influences. The music he produces is differnet enough that you rarely listen to Tremors and think about how much he sounds like Lana Del Ray.

But you do listen to the record and note where he sounds like Radiohead. It’s less clear when somebody else is performing the music he produces and writes, but his voice clearly emulates his heroes.

Despite that, compared to the rest of the industry, SOHN’s debut feels remarkable fresh. The vibe is good, and the beats are great, and the melodies are even better. This first album from SOHN is a unique and fun listen, and one that continually surprises from end to end. Here’s hoping that Christopher Taylor can keep up this streak of great tunes well into his career.

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The production value on each track is astounding too. Part of the reason that each track comes together so well is a tacit musical admission that most of these songs are about the pulsing mess of sex. From the beats of Waiting Game to the grind of This Is What It Feels Like, the production value of each track oozes sex.

Vocally, it’s hard to pin down BANKS’ influences. The Weeknd seems like an obvious one, but she’s reportedly obsessed with Fiona Apple. That’s a hard comparison to make, but I can see it: if you removed the dark atmosphere and electronic work in the background, and replaced it all with a sing-along performance, I could see BANKS covering Fiona Apple without a problem.

All these qualities come together perfectly for a four-track EP that doesn’t last a single second longer than it needs to. London is one of the most exciting debuts from an artist I can remember in some time.

I can’t wait to hear a full-length record from BANKS soon.

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