Artist: WIN WIN

Title: Double Vision

Record Label: Vice Music

Rating: 5.5

If you count Alex Epton, otherwise known as XXXChange, amongst your midst this is bound to set tongues wagging. Known for founding Spank Rock as well as remixing the likes of Thom Yorke, Bjork and actually writing half of Kele Okereke’s solo record, The Boxer, Epton is considered a digital wizard when it comes to electronic music. Psyche-dance trio WIN WIN boast such a visionary within their ranks along with Chris Devlin and visual artist Ghostdad, With all this in mind and the company WIN WIN keep along with their associated peers it comes as quite a surprise that their sophomore LP, Double Vision, is a lot less exciting than knowing Epton has shared oxygen with Thom Yorke.

Double Vision is a record harnessed on minimal electronics but with an organic touch. ‘Make A Toast’ begins with bouncing synths and quivering electronic currents but it comes to a close with a swathe of warm strings. While Landloper contains the sort of guitar lines normally found on a Vampire Weekend record, it’s not quite tropical punk, more tropical funk light. The nagging feeling with the trio’s latest output is that it feels too clinical, it lacks any form of hook or enticing notion. It almost seems to be devoid of personality. With WIN WIN combining the synthetic with elements of a human touch, on paper the results should be thrilling but ultimately the band’s new record feels like a non event. It doesn’t help that a large amount of the vocals on Double Vision sound like they have been recorded underwater.

Music isn’t a competition but when you have bands like Hot Chip making geeky dancefloor pop, Passion Pit creating quirky electronica and Miike Snow sliding somewhere in-between with their ambient, Balearic tendencies, WIN WIN seem like they are trailing the rest of the pack. The trio aren’t dancey enough to get the party jumping, nor are they low key enough to get you pensively exploring the dark recesses of your mind. It’s a lose lose this time around for Double Vision.

Words and Thoughts of Adam Williams