Album Review: Saskwatch - Manual Override

If your idea of Saskwatch is horned-up soul music, you might find yourself double taking through Manual Override.

Moments such as opening one-two punch December Nights, with its meandering flute line, and Then There's You are equal parts eclectic and sultry. It's an approach that serves The Avalanches well, and there are more than a few similarities with the dance music pioneers to be found here.

Singer Nkechi Anele's vocal line is much more prominent than it has been in the past, Renoir a perfect example of how her lyrics are given space to shine. Her vocals are more subdued on North Terrace, the muffled instrumentation more akin to The xx than contemporary soul singers like Kylie Auldist.

Despite the different direction, Manual Override never suffers from the band holding back; rather, Saskwatch are focused on creating an indie-pop album filled with lush choruses (see album highlight Finger Painting) and a generous serve of rawness around the edges.

If there's a weak spot, it's the treble-heavy combination of Anele's voice, high-pitched guitar chords and snare drum on Gemini. Despite a clever strings arrangement, when combined with a pithy keyboard line the track is a challenge, but one that - at just three minutes - is fleeting and not reflective of the record as a whole.