Mr. Scruff | Friendly Bacteria [ALBUM REVIEW]

When you’re prefaced by an artist’s PR rep saying that an album is more “serious” and “mature,” it’s pretty easy to dismiss it, and say to yourself, “Ugh, one of those albums.” But, if you’ve got a discography spanning almost 20 years, it’s unlikely that you wouldn't have picked up few tips along the way. Just as all artists are driven to improve themselves, Mr. Scruff (a.k.a. Andrew Carthy) takes his style of trip-hop and nu-jazz into modernity, utilizing more synthesized sounds, which gives Friendly Bacteria some glitz, and a bit of thump. Unfortunately, this becomes overwhelming at times. The guest vocalists do add some character, but are more of an awkward fit than a noteworthy feature. As much as I appreciate musical progression, Friendly Bacteria isn’t as infectious as the rest of Carthy's work, but I think I need to give this petri dish some more time to incubate before it grows on me.