Track List
The Gardens – Spencer Brown
I’ll Never – Spencer Brown
Airplane Tekno – Spencer Brown feat. Roderick Demmings Jr.
Arps n Crafts – Spencer Brown
Will I Ever Find Love – Spencer Brown
Nightwalk – Spencer Brown
J2 – Spencer Brown
Audio – Spencer Brown & Liam Hathaway
waves.wav – Spencer Brown & Wilt Claybourne feat. Jules
Hippie Hill – Spencer Brown
Bill Graham – Spencer Brown
No Going Back (Spencer’s Album Mix) – Spencer Brown
Debuting his solo album, Spencer Brown’s Illusions Of Perfection is a hypnotically engaging, eclectic journey through the world of house and trance music. While the individual tracks are unlikely to be remembered for years to come, the track selection and musical journey through the various different intricate sub genres and sounds of dance music make this a great album to listen to in one continuous sitting.
The album opens with the soft melody of The Gardens, perfectly capturing the mood of the entire album. From here, each track seamlessly blends into the next with a continuous hypnotic groove covering every part of this 60 minute journey. Elements of jazz, techno, progressive house and trance filter into the track list and whether it be the harps in Will I Ever Find Love or the lounge piano vibes of Airplane Tekno, Spencer Brown has a keen eye for instrument variation and each of these tracks work harmoniously together.
Those looking for something with more vocals or uplifting vibes akin to that seen on other Anjuna-based albums will certainly be left wanting. Spencer Brown’s debut album is one of deliberate musicality; an intelligently written album designed to maximise the use of different instruments while hypnotically grooving through the different genres of house and trance.
It seems odd to recommend Illusions Of Perfection as the perfect accompanying album for studying or long, slow runs but from personal experience, this is the go-to album for both of these activities. The individual tracks are still just about strong enough to stand on their own but as a continuous journey through the beauty of Spencer Brown’s music tastes, the album is up there with some of the best. The genre defying sounds and perfect relaxing vibes make this a difficult album to recommend to those looking for something more uplifting but as a change of pace to the usual bombardment of euphoric trance, Spencer Brown’s album might be the closest illusion of perfection we’re likely to get.
-
Verdict - 9/10
9/10