Way Out West (GB)

Massive Attack, Leftfield, Underworld, Orbital… all rolled boulders across the plains of electronica; all gave the '90s a hypo. On the prowl of some serious Pete Tong time came twelve-bore Bristolites Way Out West: the concord of Nick Warren and Jody Wisternoff, two DJs crackling with invention. See: the shimmering breaks of club hit "The Gift", a rebirth of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" that sired an alleged four hundred remixes (eat that, "Born Slippy"). See: "UB Devoid‘s" tectonic lusciousness, soaring like a runaway hover board when the rest of the scene seemed content to animate eighteen-year-olds. The albums that spawned them, Way Out West (1997) and Intensify (2001), were replete with commercial potential-so much so that the duo cut loose for 2004’s Don’t Look Now, galvanizing hordes at a sun kissed Glastonbury when they hit them with the airbrakes of "Anything But You". Four years later, the present day. Messrs Warren and Wisternoff have unveiled We Love Machine: their fourth full album in sixteen years of partnership. The Way Out West LPs come slowly, like comets, but when they hit it’s with the impact of alien technology: Nick’s marriage to his beloved compilations keeps him pinned to a factory of innovators, and Jody’s nu disco sidestep shows he can dish out the hits like a cruiserweight. It’s been a long time coming but you can bet your last breath that the prize will be fast and shiny.