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Fatigue

My favourite album of last year was Fatigue by L'Rain. I can't recall how I first heard about it - did I read a review and then seek it out? Did I catch one of its tracks played on the radio? Had the YouTube algorithm, in its finite wisdom, suggested something from it? I suspect my first introduction to it was on-line, and took place about this time last year. By whatever means I made its acquaintance, I fell under its spell almost immediately.

Even so, I hesitated for a short time before buying, as it was not made available on CD. It irked me to spend more on a larger disc when I might otherwise have paid less on a smaller one. I don't think there's any special benefit derived from its being on the older medium - if anything, some tracks (such as the opening 'Fly, Die', which begins with snatches of music - overlain by noises of sirens, gunfire and helicopters - punctuated by brief silences) might have had slightly more impact in digital form.

Tightfisted quibbling aside, this is wonderful music, which seems to me potently psychedelic in its own unconventional way. It's not 'trippy' as such but woozily liquid. There are few blatant hooks - and many of the lyrics are hard to discern, yet there's something about its musical atmosphere that I find irresistably absorbing. At not quite half an hour long, it's no epic, but the rich density of the arrangements lend it a fully satisfying heft.

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