Album Review: Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of

A perpetual shapeshifter, Daniel "Oneohtrix Point Never" Lopatin's music can't be pinned down to one sound, genre or direction.

But Age Of is probably as close to a definitive record as we're going to get. Age Of doesn't stick to one particular format or formula though; if anything, its range and unexpected tangents are part of what makes it so Lopatin-esque, from the harpsichord workout show opening title track, to the caustic machine funk of We'll Take It.

Perhaps the most significant development here is the bevy of vocal pieces, or "nightmare ballads" in Lopatin's words, with contributions from James Blake, Kelsey Lu and Lopatin himself. Black Snow opens with ominous breathing before a barely recognisable Anohni digitally mumbles her way through an understated invitation to an AI-controlled, post-nuclear apocalypse. Considering the subject matter, it's surprisingly pretty. Elsewhere, vocals are digitised, pitch-bent and stripped of all humanity. Some ideas perhaps could've been fleshed out a little more, Manifold appears to be heading somewhere truly otherworldly before stumbling to a stop. But overall this might be the most accomplished work of a true visionary. Where Lopatin will go from here is anyone's guess.