Disclosure's Settle: The Review

Artist: Disclosure
Title: Settle

Released: June 2013
Label: PMR, Island Records

After the rumours of the apparently "faked" DJ set by the breakthrough duo that is Disclosure at Wembley Arena having made it into the musical worlds news bulletins, I felt that it was about time that I actually listened to the album, since despite not listening to the radio a great deal, whenever I do its guaranteed that the Lawrence brothers' songs are on the general rotation.

I've been waiting for this album for a long time, since I've been listening to Disclosure a long time before the likes of "Latch" and "White Noise" were jamming the airwaves of Blighty, and when the release of Settle slowly approached, the hype that surrounded this musical duo was unbelievable, as I don't think there has been such a buzz over House/Garage style music like this in the mainstream since the 90's, and it's clear to see why. Catchy songs such as the aforementioned are perfect for the dance floor, and will surely become crucial songs for many DJ's when transitioning from one genre to another in their sets. The one thing to note is that the majority of the songs on the album either have had a music video release or a single release, hence the amount of airtime that some of the songs have received.

The intro of the album typifies the "classic" Disclosure sound, with the use of minimalistic snares and hi hats with an underlying bass carrying the song to a crescendo at the mid-way point. This format for which many people recognise the Lawrence brothers' music, is configured so that the bass and lows of the song take precedence in "When A Fire Starts To Burn", however listening closely you can see that the song has borrowed the same snare beat from "White Noise", which mentally detracts from the production of the song. Moving into "Latch", the blueprint by which Disclosure follow almost religiously is returned to normal, with the voice of Sam Smith definitely making the track what it is, and is undisputed in the reason as to why the song had such immense success in the UK charts.

When "Defeated No More" comes on, you know that it is going to be an instant classic, or would be should it ever get a single release. Once again the singing here takes the song to the next level, and the instantly recognisable voice of the Friendly Fires front man Ed Macfarlane  almost makes it feel like Disclosure have remixed one of Ed's songs, to great precision, giving the song the overall feel of the sort of Balearic Summer many thousands of musically minded Brits will be experiencing come the summer holidays. The singing is equally as impressive on the track "Voices" featuring Keable, however I don't think that it quite compares to the collaboration with the "Hawaiian Air" superstar.

The final part of the album is introduced in a way by the interlude of "Second Chance" a two minute piece which is a lot more relaxed than the other tracks, definitely giving the listener time to reflect on the first part of "Settle". The sampling here is also of a very high standard, something which Disclosure cannot be faulted on, the track definitely gives a similar feel to one of their older tracks called "Tenderly". "Grab Her" is certainly a low point in the album, as it is a very lacklustre track which could be passed off as any other Future House musician's work, with a simple bass kick and synthesiser set up, this track definitely takes away from the overall production quality of the album, apart from the sampling, which is again quality although again slightly lacking.

The final two track are definitely the two that I would pick to finish the album off with. "January" which features the underrated Jamie Woon definitely sounds and plays like a Jamie Woon song, it could have certainly had it's place in the "Gravity" singer's own album with the multitude of synthesisers that are on display here. The final track featuring London Grammar called "Help Me Lose My Mind" also equates to the  previous song in that the featuring artists definitely make the song their own.

To highlight, Disclosure have succeeded in producing an album which will cater for both the Chart music lover who can't escape the Top 40 just as much as those who are more in tune with the world of House or this emerging genre of "Future House/Bass" which sees the Lawrence brothers pioneering this. An issue I find though is that all the songs have a sample or singer laying their vocals on the track, which I feel may annoy many fans of House which doesn't include any vocals and strives to show instead the intricacy of the actual melodies produced, but I feel that with the current state of music nowadays, a "cross-over" act like Disclosure who have the ability to make quality melodies, with or without singers will truly succeed, as they can provide something for everyone. A final issue is that many could see this album as being a sample pack in essence due to the number of singers that are present, hence why many of the tracks with better known artists such as Woon and Macfarlane feel like they could be adapted to both their respective albums, however this doesn't present a problem overall as the album is strong enough to allow Guy and Howard Lawrence to receive the credit they truly deserve for delivering this album the way they have.

In terms of RE-PLAYABILITY, "Settle" certainly holds this factor well, as long as the songs which have been horrendously overplayed on the radio are avoided and not played too many times, since this is such a solid album.

the STAND OUT TRACKS for me are as follows:

January ft. Jamie Woon
Help Me Lose My Mind ft. London Grammar
Defeated No More ft. Ed Macfarlane