It’s a relief to hear Susan Bear delivers the title of her third album, Algorithmic Mood Music, sarcastically. It touches many bases, confusing machines scanning the music to know who to spit it back to. At the same time, it should please listeners with a heart, a commonly overlooked demographic these days!
‘Shake (Say Yes)’ is the banger, the electronic floor-shaker with 90s fills and computer blips. It’s followed by ‘Song For Four Hands’, a beautiful piano number that wraps itself around you. There’s plenty of dream-like and soft-breathing moments, but as a record created in snatches over a longer time-frame, it’s as varied as everyday life.
Closer ‘I Don’t Want You To Know Me’ shuffles and gyrates, begging you to move and respond in kind, and then it stops. Abruptly. Which jolts and you want to start again, and you’ll do so even when you know it’s coming.You can’t miss the move towards more electro sounds here, the night out moments to accompany the more reflective songs of previous records.
Let’s be clear about this, Susan Bear has earned the right to do whatever she wants musically, and it pays off, no matter what sounds you’re really into.
Algorithmic Mood Music is out now, on Lost Map Records. Available here.
