Marconi Union ★★★ Signals

JUST MUSIC. CD/DL/LP

Enigmatic ambient experimentalists’ homage to the beat masters.

There’s something of the contrarian – albeit of the more mild-mannered sort – about Marconi Union. The Manchester trio’s previous album, 2019’s

Dead Air, chiefly eschewed beats in favour of ruminative, windswept ambient. By contrast, Signals is inspired by their favourite drummers (think Jaki Liebezeit, Tony Allen) and thus results in a distinct rise in tempo. Cycles Repeat, for example, lays down a trademark, economical Allen-like groove, over which they fold layers of delay-laden, arpeggiated guitar and pulsing, distorted voices. A motorik rhythm scuttles along Strata, in what must be one of MU’s funkiest moments in their 18-year recording career, but the closing Looking Through The Ilex is a return to type, of sorts, pitter-patter percussion married to church organ drone. Despite the BPM boost, Marconi Union still want to wrap you in a warm, sonic blanket, balancing the synthetic and organic.