Nathan Fake: Evaporator

"A quiet satisfaction bubbles beneath the surface of Evaporator; it feels as if Fake has aged into happy maturity, 23 years after making his recorded debut. This is a record whose creator appears perfectly at ease with himself and his abilities-the polar opposite of the tired tortured-artist myth. It might be no coincidence that this is the first Nathan Fake record to bear his"

"Evaporator is a shrug-of-the-shoulders kind of record in many ways. The sound is essentially conservative: a mixture of huge, amiably fuzzy synth melodies and rhythms that land somewhere between UK garage shuffle, IDM tricksiness, and the four-on-the-floor tick of techno. There's nothing that engages with Afro house, hard techno, hyperpop, or any other mid-'20s dance-music trend. There's (probably) nothing that will become a dancefloor hit;"

Recorded in six weeks over summer 2024, largely in single takes, Evaporator presents Nathan Fake in a relaxed, self-assured mode. The album favors conservative electronic palettes: fuzzy synth melodies, arpeggiated riffs, and rhythms that sit between UK garage shuffle, IDM intricacy, and four-on-the-floor techno. The record resists contemporary trends like Afro house, hard techno, or hyperpop, and avoids chasing dancefloor hits. Revivalist touches echo Fake's earlier work and moments like James Holden's progressive-house mix of "The Sky Was Pink." A patient, neuron-tickling approach gives the music a satisfying, mature warmth and quiet confidence.

Read at Pitchfork