Swayzak reviewed as chill? Odd? Stretching it a bit? Not really. "Chill" used to and still should be about mood and not bpm or even beats. Over the years, Swayzak have consistently put out electro-tinged grooves that are bouncy but have that underlying sway that made atmospheric d&b so attractive. Dancing half-time to a 130 bpm song equals 65 bpm. Now that is chilled.

1. Quiet Life
2. So Cheap
3. No Sad Goodbyes
4. Distress and Calling
5. Smile and Receive
6. Claktronic
7. Silent Luv
8. Pukka Bumbles
9. By the Rub of Love
10. They Return

"Quiet Life" sets the tone for Some Other Country with soulful vocals over a smooth 4/4 beat. The cranky electroclash noises are buried or nonexistent this time around. Hailed as a return to the sounds of Snowboarding In Argentina, their first classic, but still moving forward. "No Sad Goodbyes" is a great minimal workout with reflective vocals by Richard Davis. "Distress and Calling" plays out like an instrumental out of The Cure's "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" era with eerie strings and broken snare claps, but makes it something special with their superb sub-bass dub playing.

Perfecting their use of electro kick rolls, warm swells and skittering sounds, "Smile And Receive" sounds timeless as a beautiful house-inflected dance/not dance track. "Claktronic" delves into a strange sort of middle-eastern meets multi-layered world percussion. Not the best way to describe it I know, but the song confounds normal description.

Lest we forget that Swayzak are masters of the weird retro-electro, "Silent Luv" and "So Cheap" are present to remind us. "Silent Luv" drops 80's era synth on top of each other as wavering vocals pop in and out.

"Pukka Bumbles" starts with ambient layers mixing and moving that are brought together at the off moment into dub bass and smooth synth melodies. So it's appropriate in this case to say "Things have come full circle" or "Swayzak are becoming comfortable with what we love about them" and know that in this case, it's becomes a wonderful listening experience each time played.

~ Dedric Moore

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