Going out and buying a new album from a record store as opposed to acquiring it digitally is an extremely rare event for me these days, reserved only for albums by favourite artists that have me salivating in anticipation prior to release. The promise of Clark’s latest release was strong enough to trigger the act, and the first listen eventually turned this great promise only to mild approval.Turning Dragon is Christopher Clark’s fourth full-length album for Warp Records after 2001’s Clarence Park, 2003’s Empty The Bones Of You and 2006’s Body Riddle. Fans were told to expect an album of more dancefloor-friendly tracks and that is generally what they are.
A number of the tracks, especially Volcan Veins with its poor vocals, tend to grate to the extent that they become unpleasant, which can be put down to Clark’s questionable decision to coat his tracks with an overly rough and distorted sound. However there are strong and memorable moments as one would expect in an album of stomping beat ridden tracks from a producer very much holding the torch lit by Warp’s electronic giants. These include the tremendous melodies in the final minutes of the opener New Year Storm, the epic centrepiece For Wolves Crew, the deep and acidic thuds of Ache of the North and the marvellously executed closer Penultimate Persian. From a gaming perspective, Turning Dragon sounds as if it was made for turbulent online fragfests in places.
Despite this scattered praise, I consider the album a step sideways rather than a step forward for Clark. There’s plenty of energy and aggression here, but it lacks the consistent panache of yesteryear.
6/10
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