Amon Tobin has released plenty of music under quite a number of pseudonyms over his 25-year career. Using his given name and aliases like Cujo and Two Fingers he has taken on trip hop, break beat, drum and bass, as well as film and videogame soundtracks. Now though, he’s added yet another identity to the list in Stone Giants for some woozy, psychedelic electronica that purportedly sets out to explore themes of love.
While this stated aim isn’t particularly apparent, especially on tracks like the stoned “Stinson Beach” or the off-kilter “The Girl with the Great Ideas (That I Steal)”, West Coast Love Stories is certainly a mellow and understated piece of work with none of the skull-crushing beats and heavy funk of his Two Fingers incarnation. In fact, the title track is so laid back as to be completely beatless, and there are even acoustic guitars on the meandering (yet sublime) psychedelic pop of “Best Be Sure”.
Elsewhere the sleepy trip hop groove of “A Year to the Day” wanders into otherworldly dream pop, and “Metropole” is a stew of warped and pulsating electro-pop with distorted, trippy vocals. In fact, West Coast Love Stories is so relaxed that it struggles to get off the sofa, never mind onto the dancefloor. That’s not so bad though, even if the album would seem to be an exploration of something more narcotically charged than love and romance.
As with so many chilled-out electronica-flavoured albums, West Coast Love Stories is best consumed whole, in a single sitting with no distractions. However, it’s a disc that certainly isn’t dull or one-note in its often beatless and hazy introspection, but one which invites full immersion in its enchanting undercurrents, like a hot bath at the end of a particularly taxing day.