Info: Whilst I am a fan of Rory Hall, aka Proper Micro NV's sound and releases to date, I have to admit I was taken by surprise at how accomplished his debut album Dormant Boy is. Described by the Limerick electronic artist as; "...my most personal record to date. It's a bit of everything really in terms of emotion. Happy, sad, dancey, calming and woozy all at once. It's a little bit idiosyncratic in a sense that it's a bit unusual and a little bit off kilter. I like to think that it digs in a little bit deeper and pushes a few electronic boundaries. I've thrown everything at it, I'm really proud of it and I hope people enjoy and support it."
'Take Me All Around' is a particularly absorbing start to the album (in fact, possibly moreso than most Irish albums released this year). Having said that! I had to go back to the start of it numerous times and listen to it in full again, I usually don't get so caught up this early in an album. It's such a fine example of ambient electronic music, there's a soft yet bright glow to everything. From Hall's sleep-like state vocal to the energising trance beat it's a pretty gripping affair. Proof if ever it were needed that complexity can lead to a loss of verve, the simple things done well will always engage.
The warped sounds of 'Always' come next, this is so nicely polished production-wise, here we take a slow-motion plunge into the deep, dark, blue sea with a soft white halo of light surrounding us. Suspended in the sound that Proper Micro NV has bent and twisted, we sink slowly to the incantation of his filtered vocal. Trippy as fuck.
Previous single 'Eyes' is also a delight, the mood is different from what we've heard so far, vocally it's reminiscent of two of my childhood 80's idols, Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals (think 'Johnny Come Home') and UB40's Ali Campbell. It really does have single written all over it, and was a perfect choice as such, mellow never sounded so mellow.
The latest single from Dormant Boy, 'Call Me What You Want' indulges our inner soul-pop n' electro desires without apology, and when that bouncy pad beat pops in at 1:17 it goes next level. If part of the artist's persona is to imbue a calmness in the listener, it is nailed to the mast here, to the point of welcome lethargy. After the haute-downtempo electronic drizzle that is 'Fused', comes a more upfront affair in 'That's True', the pop elements here are in extremis in a very good way, it's glitchy retro-electro clicks are quite smile-inducing, a close challenger to the Commodore 64 soundz of following track 'Salt'.
'Underscore' is a firm favourite, I admire the experimentation with thinly wrapped layers of electronic sound here, not for the first time Hall creates a seriously hypnotic drone sound and motion all at once. 'Dot Dot Dot' goes toe to toe with 'Eyes' for burnt out embers of chill, it feels so close that Proper Micro NV's hand may as well be on your shoulder while he delivers his drowsy monologue. Another dose of comatosis ripples through 'February', and in the final chapter of Dormant Boy, Proper Micro NV flips everything on its head with the Daft Punk leaning 'All the Time Proactively Searching', a proper microcosm within a microcosm.
Kitsch is a word I've never used once in a review of music because of its connotations, but there is no word in the English language that is close enough to suitable when it comes to certain aspects of Proper Micro NV's music, the best parts, and this is such a positive. Dormant Boy for me strikes the best balance between indulgence and admiration, regardless of whether you are a horrendous music snob, a happy go merry casual music listener, or that elusive Goldilocks in between, if you can't connect somewhere with this album, you may be dead inside.
Like / Listen & Follow:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/propermicronv
