3/5 stars
Can I Go With You To Go Back To My Country is another notch in the belt of the electronic trio I’lls. Echoing their predecessors in more ways than one, they’ve kept it fresh enough to imbue new life into the clicks and slurps popular within the genre of ambient electronica.
From the outset, this album is soothing in its simplicity. The synths are softer than before, and the instrumentals aren’t quite as in your face. I’lls are still experimenting, coupling garage beats with shifting piano melodies on tracks like ‘Let Me Have Just One’, and if you think you hear something a tad derivative, it’s quickly caught up in a new idea that piques your curiosity.
This is partly due to the dense soundscape they’ve maintained from their older releases, but this time around the effects are more Hot Chipthan they are Portishead. Simon Lam’s vocals are often relegated to the back of this EP, which is nice because the stars of this show are the interesting tangents that appear throughout the course of the songs. The vocals are a pleasant addition rather than a dominating focus.
I’lls are jazz aficionados, and once again their ability to form something new out of the old carries this EP.
Can I Go With You To Go Back To My Country by I’llsis out now through Solitaire.
