Album Review: Shapeshifter - Delta

One of the greatest live acts in drum'n'bass, Shapeshifter have nevertheless always had difficulty delivering a consistent album. Their diverse stylistic palette, coupled with the marked contrast between their live concert set-up and electronic studio work has almost always ensured that their albums have been uneasy shufflings of drum'n'bass, reggae, soul and metal punctuated by the occasional highlight. Only 2009's live-instruments-only The System Is A Vampire really came close. 

Delta would appear to be another misstep. Potentially, their worst. With their fifth album, Shapeshifter have thrown caution to the wind and delivered their most experimental release to date. Unfortunately, their experimentation largely feels unfocused and ill-considered. Opener, Monarch, for example, slams massive breaks in between smooth jazz soloing and underneath ill-fitting vocal melodies. Individually, each element is promising. Together, they're a mess. It's a theme that carries on across the album. Giving Up The Ghost features cringe-worthy heavy metal guitars. In Colour sounds a bit like David Guetta tackling dubstep.

It's not a complete disaster. There are some surprising rewards buried within Delta. Diamond Trade, for example, is Shapeshifter's debut foray into the indie-electro of acts like The Presets and works surprisingly well. For the most part, though, Shapeshifter's fifth album is disposable. Not so much because it offers a different sound to their previous records, however. Rather because their songwriting hasn't developed in proportion to their ambition. Really, Delta's experimentation would be irrelevant if the band had delivered sufficiently crafted songs. Unfortunately, everything feels half-complete and slapped together.