Inarguably one of the defining electronic outfits active in Britain at the turn of the century, Faithless’ Mercury-nominated commercial rave secured them a comfortable place on the nation’s post-club coffee table. The split in 2011 seemed like tacit realisation that their era was done, yet after a decade of collaborative DJ and remix projects, the reunion of production core Rollo and Sister Bliss (rapper Maxi Jazz is busy with his own projects) for this seventh album feels somehow inevitable.
The mighty techno breakdown in the second half of ‘What Shall I Do?’ and the radio-friendly house groove of ‘Synthesizer’ (influenced, they say, by Trevor Horn and Jean-Michel Jarre) reaffirm their commitment to a big-room club audience. Yet elsewhere there are explorations of conscious, Massive Attack-style electronic dub in ‘Remember’ and downtempo electronic soul on the Damien Jurado-featuring ‘Take Your Time’, and a comfortingly pervasive yearning for sonic and social inclusively throughout.
