British siblings Guy and Howard Lawrence return for the fourth studio album under their Disclosure project. ‘Alchemy’ follows previous long players ‘Settle’, ‘Caracal’, and ‘Energy’, and is completely unique to the other three in the sense that it brings zero credited features. Known for having a sound which bridges the gap between club-focused garage and house, and the more commercially-driven, pop-tinged UK house, the pair have delivered some of the biggest productions in British dance
music during the past decade, though it hasn’t always been to their benefit, and at times they swayed too far into the pop world. ‘Alchemy’ is the first album they’ve released without any connection to one of the major labels, and as previously mentioned includes no features, with the only vocals being their own. This means they’ve removed the pressure of having a label executive breathe down their throats to produce music that has to do well on radio or streaming playlists, and they can more importantly release the music they want to. The outcome sits somewhere between their earlier work, and ‘Energy’, bringing plenty of those Disclosure synth melodies and dense, filtered basslines, alongside a generous amount of homemade top lines and stadium-sized drum samples. Standout tracks include the breakbeat-fueled ‘Higher Than Ever Before’, the massive drum work and weighty acid bass on ‘Go The Distance’, and the garage-house hybrid of ‘We Were In Love’.
Where to start:
Higher Than Ever Before: Dreamy top line vocal meets energetic breakbeats
Go The Distance: Filtered synth bass, rhythmic vocal loops, and punchy drums
We Were In Love: Deep, chunky drum grooves and pitched up vocal chops
Previous from Disclosure:
Settle LP (2013, Universal Music)
Energy LP (2020, Island Records)
If you like this then check out:
Duke Dumont – Duality LP (2020, Virgin EMI)
Flume – Palaces LP (2022, Future Classic)
Disclosure – Alchemy LP is out now on Apollo Records / AWAL Recordings.