Steve Bug - Noir [Poker Flat Recordings Promo]

Coming up with an early bird review as Steve Bug's new album "Noir" is only to be released in early October via Poker Flat Recordings but as the whitelabel copy has been sitting on my desk for a bit now I think it's time to unveal what's to expect from his fifth official longplayer - not including his 1996-released compilation "Released Tracks" on his former Raw Elements-imprint that was more of a compilation kind of thing. As we know from Mr. Brügesch's previous album releases the longplay format means more to him than a hardly inspired compilation of dancefloor bangers and this is defo to be felt here although "Noir" is not a conceptual album piece dealing with a single mood or musical vision. This although the concept of film noir is near hand at hand not only due to the albums main title but also to the certain moodiness that is an important part of the overall athmosphere, a tense vibe that could well accompany some past midnight gangster b-movie shot in black and white instead of high definition colour. A movie that's set somewhen in the 50s with a part of the score happening in run-down bars and tiny backrooms, obviously the scene of the crime and perfect places for dirty deals of any kind. This is is the overall setting and no matter if it's the raw and deep vocal approach of "Moments Of Ease" with Emilie Chick on microphone duties, the racing AcidHouse blast named "No Adjustment" featuring the Foremost Poets, the oldskool'ish "Somewhere In The Night", the deep BrokenBeat-tune "Poison Of Choice" or the sweet and decent latenight Downtempo piece named "The Spiral Staircase" - all of those tunes would perfectly work as score for this kind of movie at a certain point of the action as well as they do on the floor, just take the spiralling, dark'ish "Serve Your Mistress" with its epic build up as example and imagine an old car furiously hitting an endless abandoned country road at night with only dim headlights intersecting the heavy rain... this is a soundtrack and a journey although the flic has to be shot yet. And maybe this is Steve Bug's best album ever, at least the one that seems to be the most complete and most coherent longplay listening experience in his career. Nice.