Dec 31, 2022

Top 10 electronic music albums of 2022: Mall Grab – What I Breathe


We're about halfway through the Top 10, so you can stop bleating "are we nearly there yet". Presenting the latest of my Top 10 electronic music albums of 2022: a man with six dogs!

Mall Grab: What I Breathe (Looking For Trouble)

Something was bugging me about Mall Grab. A needle in my memory. After days of pondering, the penny dopped. I’d tried to write a review of the Australian producer’s debut album back in the summer, and no-one got back to me with the information I needed. That pinprick of memory was frustration, a feeling in absolute opposition to this brilliantly refreshing album. 

Low-burning electronic jams, warm flowing chords, bass-heavy armchair techno loops. And in Love Reigns, a sunny piano house stormer worthy of a Confidence Man video of people pratting about in a hot air balloon. Taking influences from a history of house, this album is jolly, populist, festival-friendly and a real palate cleanser in this dense album countdown. 

Pitchfork hated it, so it must be good. There. I finally published my review.

Curious track: I Can Remember It So Vividly steals all of Nintendo's bleeps and turns them into something uber cool.

Album feels: An all-you-can-eat buffet, without the bloated feeling afterwards.

Cover art: Dog, dog, dog, man, dog, dog, dog. 

From another website: It's all held together by great pacing, frankly amazing production and a lack of cynicism that feels refreshing, open-hearted to the very last moment. (Resident Advisor)

This is part of a series of the Best Electronic Music Albums of 2022. Read it all here.

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