Album Review: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Trouble

After a string of bouncy EPs via Joe Goddard's colourful Greco-Roman label, Orlando Higginbottom, the posh sounding, freckly Oxford choirboy that is Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, is finally dropping his debut LP. Is it worth the wait? Dear god, yes.

Trouble is anything but. These songs are the musical equivalent of a caprioska – fresh, summery and full of flavour. Listen to Promises or Garden and try not to be whisked away to an island in the sun. With twitching synths, moody pulses and lush vocal lines swimming over the beats, it's a record that gyrates from the speakers, each song provocatively dancing consistently and with poise. That's not to say TEED can't stomp on your neck either – there are some genuine bangers here. Deep tech-heavy heavers like Household Goods and Detroit-bowing American Dream Part II mix those warmer elements with brutal bass, creating the sort of robust and aggressive tunes that could destroy lives on the dancefloor when given half a chance.

Then only real gripe with Trouble comes down to the actual production of the record as opposed to the songs, and the flow of the album as a whole. With too much breathing space between individual tracks, especially late in the record, the songs at times jerk against each other, missing the audio flow that their sole flair encourages. But that's chump change when you consider the return on investment you are receiving here. Higginbottom has long talked about breaking down the ideals of what traditional dance music is, and with Trouble he has created a record that is confined by nothing, and because of this offers everything.