Art Of No State

Swedish producer Andreas Saag is a lot closer to West London in the spiritual sense than the physical sense, which is apparent on his full-length debut as Stateless for Ubiquity. This follows a pair singles for Freerange -- "Falling Into" and "Another Day" -- and both are featured here in alternate versions. The former made a significant splash in London's Co-Op club, the place from which broken beat energy emanates, and the remainder of what makes up The Art of No State fits into the broken beat/nu-soul fabric, with references ranging from soul and fusion to deep house and couch-bound downbeat. The album often comes off as a little too concerned with being refined and smooth, which makes its nearly 70-minute length difficult to endure without allowing it to fade into the background. Still, some tracks are so full of wonderfully heady moments that they're likely to follow you around after being heard. Saag's rotating crew of talented vocalists provide necessary a dimension, but the constant shuffle makes the album scream "project!" a little too loudly and takes away from its intimacy. ~ Andy Kellman|