Description
2023, 2×12″ LP, Warp Records. Blue vinyl.
Daniel Lopatin is not a new name to clued-in electronic fans at all, the American MIDI magician has been operating under the alias Oneohtrix Point Never for almost a decade and a half at this point. From working the keys for The Weeknd, going back and forth with artistic adoration to Caroline Polachek and having the late Ryuichi Sakamoto’s official stamp of approval, OPN is just as impressive in the shadows as he is in the light. Again is the follow-up record to fan favourite Magic and his main focus after serving as executive producer for The Weeknd’s 80s synth-wave smash ‘Dawn FM’. A pared-back rollout has given way to just one single, album closer ‘A Barely Lit Path’. Pretty-as-can-be strings bend the knee to blasts of digitised noise, the two dancing back and forth with one another across the rollercoaster six-minute runtime. Grandiose operatics and revered choir vocals glide over a swelling string section, pinned together with a throbbing electronic rhythm patch before collapsing into emptiness. It is majestic, emotional and nothing less than to be expected from OPN. – Juno
