On Reflection (Blue Vinyl)

It's easy to be cynical about collaborative projects, with the idea that bringing two names together is just a gimmicky selling point. Not here; Jas Shaw and Gold Panda met as friends, with their priorities being drinking tea, eating cheese, and hanging out in the countryside; as it happens, they also crafted a delightful collection of electronica in the process. While their individual approaches aren't oceans apart, they're both auteurs; Shaw specializes in the slow integration of layers, while Gold Panda has a quasi-psychedelic touch, yet here they meld almost seamlessly, one complementing the other. There are obvious moments where one or the other takes the lead role, such as the two openers "Qprism" and "Dicker's Dream," which have Shaw written all over them, or "Keeping Txme," which conversely has the same shimmering melody that Gold Panda regularly trades in. For the most part, however, the two producers meet halfway, it's all very organic and the relaxed attitude they had putting the record together is evident at every turn. Which is On Reflection in a nutshell, with the laid-back nature of the album mirroring the settings in which it was created, making it ideal to listen to when the atmosphere calls for kicking back. Somehow, they manage to keep it engaging from start to finish; then again, that should be no surprise from two artists who rarely run out of ideas. ~ Liam Martin