{"id":88394,"date":"2019-08-28T13:00:02","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=88394"},"modified":"2023-04-07T14:25:39","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T13:25:39","slug":"review-black-futures-never-not-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-black-futures-never-not-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Black Futures \u2013 Never Not Nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-88396\" src=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Black-Futures-Never-Not-Nothing-Album-cover-compressor-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Black-Futures-Never-Not-Nothing-Album-cover-compressor-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Black-Futures-Never-Not-Nothing-Album-cover-compressor-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Black-Futures-Never-Not-Nothing-Album-cover-compressor-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Black-Futures-Never-Not-Nothing-Album-cover-compressor-1000x1000.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Black-Futures-Never-Not-Nothing-Album-cover-compressor-465x465.jpg 465w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Black-Futures-Never-Not-Nothing-Album-cover-compressor-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Black-Futures-Never-Not-Nothing-Album-cover-compressor-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Black-Futures-Never-Not-Nothing-Album-cover-compressor.jpg 1848w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Obscured by strange backstories, disguised behind the names Space and Vibes, the duo known as <strong>Black Futures<\/strong> thrive on mystery and deception. \u00a0A collection of singles and high-concept live shows have given us a taste of their potential. With debut album \u2018<em>Never Not Nothing<\/em>\u2019 they\u2019ve finally revealed what they\u2019re capable of, and it\u2019s very impressive.<\/p>\n<p>While their story remains vague, their music certainly is not. Pounding beats drive the songs, synths add texture and an armful of electronics fill in the gaps. It\u2019s clear and focused. \u00a0Yet, everything has a full-band feel and sound. Notably, real drums make everything powerful, while earthy vocals keep everything grounded. Imagine simple punk-rock choruses filtered through Nine Inch Nails and you\u2019re on the right page.<\/p>\n<p>Given their approach, it\u2019s a diverse but cohesive album. \u2018<em>Body &amp; Soul<\/em>\u2019 and \u2018<em>Gutters<\/em>\u2019 really play on the snarling punk elements while <em>\u2018Love\u2019<\/em> feels more like an industrial rave. Yet, no song is static, each evolves through its runtime and twists to a different place. On \u2018<em>Karma, Ya Dig?!<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 the slow machine-shop grooves are stirred up by a buzzing bumblebee riff. It\u2019s effective and focused, which is a real art. Similarly, <em>\u2018Youthman\u2019<\/em> mixes slow melancholy passages with distorted cries and rattling oil-drums, stretching and distorting the song\u2019s base like an elastic band.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Never Not Nothing - Body &amp; Soul (Official Video)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/amtEN2VTjQE?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>For the most part, the lyrics are kept simple, which helps the songs feel catchy and effective. There\u2019s also a wonderful line of cynicism running through the songs. Particularly, \u2018<em>Riches<\/em>\u2019 which can\u2019t resist throwing out a political message bathed in sarcastic humour.<\/p>\n<p>While they love a big chorus, equally there\u2019s a challenging edge to many of the songs. A spoken-word piece adds to the upbeat \u2018<em>Me.TV<\/em>\u2019 and \u2018<em>Trance<\/em>\u2019 throws in a huge jerking beatdown in the end. Even the straightforwardness of indie-styled \u2018<em>Tunnel Vision<\/em>\u2019 is deceptive.<\/p>\n<p>Exciting and uplifting with a complex, brooding edge, \u2018<em>Never Not Nothing<\/em>\u2019 is a storming debut album. <strong>Black Futures<\/strong> push their sound to unusual, interesting places but never lose sight of accessibility.<\/p>\n<p>4\/5<\/p>\n<p>\u2018<em>Never Not Nothing<\/em>\u2019 by <strong>Black Futures<\/strong> is released on 30th August on <strong>Music For Nations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Black Futures<\/strong> links: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blackfutures.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlackFutures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BlackFutures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/black_futures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Words by Ian Kenworthy (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WhisperingSand\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@WhisperingSand<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Exciting and uplifting with a complex, brooding edge, \u2018Never Not Nothing\u2019 is a storming debut album&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":88396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[17521,8394,15621,837,17472],"class_list":["post-88394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-abum-reviews","tag-black-futures","tag-ian-kenworthy","tag-music-for-nations","tag-never-not-nothing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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