Artist of the Day: Stumbleine

Bristol based musician Stumbleine turned heads and topped end of year lists in 2011 as one third of Swarms,  who's LP Old Raves End was the shoegaze to dubstep's indie rock. Sun-kissed, syrup-like and melancholic, yet distinctly urban, the group managed to portray a uniquely dreamy vision of modern city life. The exact opposite side of the coin to whatever the hell Skrillex was up to at the time, which as far as the dubstep community was concerned was probably ritualistically murdering kittens.

Since 2010, however, Sumbleine has been firing off solo releases at a pace that, since he's also been busy with Swarms, we can only assume is impossible. These differ from Old Raves End by cutting off most of the dubstep base/ bass completely, leaving the more ambient-pop topping to stand on its own legs. It's vaguely reminiscent of witch house with the pitched-up, echoing female vocal clips and long, drifting chords, although it sits a little too lightly to be wholly encompassed with the movement. This lack of weight (or, if this description doesn't ring a bell, "oomph") places his music dangerously close to drifting off into insubstantial filler completely, and while his success at preventing this isn't completely consistent, Stumbleine usually manages to tie his tracks firmly to the ground.

Of the three releases this year, Drifting Youth is easily the best: containing a much heavier and thicker sound than the two following it. Since Stumbleine is already starting to release singles from a forthcoming album, we can only hope he returns to this more concrete style. By the sound of his recent cover of Radiohead's classic 'Fake Plastic Trees,' this looks to be the case.

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