(Uprising/Inertia Recordings)

New Zealand-based drum and bass outfit Concord Dawn have been generating considerable plaudits right across the globe in recent years, and now it’s time for the spotlight to settle upon their newly-released third album, ‘Uprising.’ Their first since moving away from previous label Kog Transmissions following the release of 2002’s ‘Disturbance’, ‘Uprising’ emerges at a point where more and more eyes both within and outside the dnb community seem to be focused upon the sonic output of this previously lesser known Australasian act.

Evan Short and Matt Harvey first emerged in 2000 with a self-titled debut album on Kog Transmissions that outlined the basic Concord Dawn template in a nutshell – dark techstep drum and bass that fused the rinsing percussion patterns of jungle with lithe airy atmospheric chords and melodies more akin to progressive trance. In particular, it’s this distinctive trancey element that immediately sonically differentiates from the multitudes of other dnb acts out there. 2002’s ‘Disturbance’ took things up yet another notch, with lusher and more dynamic production and an increasing focus on melodic tracks without compromising any of the material’s hardness.

Concord Dawn have been particularly taken to heart by the UK drum and bass community (a comparatively insular scene considerably difficult for overseas artists to infiltrate successfully), and their tracks have been fused into the record boxes of some of the scene’s biggest names. John B gave them a considerable leg-up in terms of international profile when he included no less than three Concord Dawn tracks on his Trance N’ Bass Mixmag covermount CD in November 2002 (and impelled a rather impressed Paul Oakenfold to write in three issues later and confess that he was now checking out dnb as a result of listening to the mix).

They’ve also released some big 12”s that have only served to add to the buzz of anticipation surrounding ‘Uprising’, the much lauded ‘Morning Light’ (released on Goldie’s ‘Timeless’ imprint), as well as ‘Aurora’ and ‘Take Me Away.’ All of this would seem to be serious cause for further investigation already, but on top of this ‘Uprising’ has also gone platinum in New Zealand (quite a spooky fact when you take into account that you have to move 300,000 copies to reach platinum status – no mean feat in a small country like New Zealand).

It’s ‘Morning Light’ that opens ‘Uprising’, and it’s a perfect choice to begin this set – a huge trancey dnb storm that builds and builds over 7 minutes, with huge swathing bass synth buzzes, bleepy melodies and a mournful male vocal that echoes all the way through. It’s one of four tracks here that have appeared previously on 12”, but sounds no less potent than any of the newer tracks on ‘Uprising’ – in fact, it still may be the album’s biggest track to these ears. ‘Tonite’ drops away the trance elements and focuses on building into a dense heavy percussive roller that would sound brutal coming out of Dillinja’s Valve Sound System, while ‘Get Ready’ features Christchurch-based MC Scribe rhyming furiously over clattering beats and an almost honkytonk-sounding piano motif.

‘Ninja’ melds a groovy electro funk melody onto hyper-detailed drum and bass rhythms while ‘Aurora’ (another track previously released on 12”) takes proceedings down perhaps the most overtly psy-trance-eque route on this album, generating huge echoing synth arpeggios over swirling drum and bass beats.

It’s ‘Raining Blood’, however that perhaps represents one of the most unexpected and perhaps problematic moments on ‘Uprising.’ Yes, Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood’ – a cover of the venerated US metal band’s signature track from ‘Reign In Blood.’ Initially, it’s a thrilling Ministry-esque samplemash fusion of hammering snares and guitar riffola, but over a full five minutes it starts to get a bit repetitive and wearing – it’s the sort of track that like a lot of the recent wave of bootleg mashups, perhaps is designed to work best the first time through.

Also slightly problematic is Concord Dawn’s collaboration with Salmonella Dub vocalist Tiki Taane – although all of the right sonic elements are laid in place by Short and Harvey, ‘Don’t Tell Me’ is let down in its execution by fairly unimaginative and throwaway lyrics along the lines of “Don’t tell me what to do / and who the f*@k are you” that render it slightly cringeworthy at points. Unlike the other tracks on ‘Uprising’, it sounds curiously rushed and hastily completed, and unfortunately comes across as a bit of a missed opportunity for a great collaboration. Things get back on track though with ‘Horrorshow’, which uses spooky theremin samples and hardcore-era synths to conjure a paranoid hardstep mood, ‘Let It Go’, which is a sublime piece of female vocal dnb reminiscent of Klute, and Concord Dawn’s previously released collaboration with Optiv, ‘Zulu.’

‘Uprising’ is a strong and diverse offering from a rapidly rising act that have found their own distinct sound amidst the global drum and bass crowd. Unfortunately, while ‘Uprising’ showcases some of Concord Dawn’s most spectacular recent 12”s amidst some exciting new productions, a couple of atypical miss-steps disrupt the flow and stop it from being the devastating experience that it could have been. Having said that, Concord Dawn are still miles ahead of most of the competition…

Recommended for fans of Klute, John B and Tranceformat