Bristol's most intriguing unit deliver their debut collective outing. Corralling Kahn, Vessel, El Kid, Jabu, Zhou and Killing Sound, 'Nexus' succinctly sums up their multi-dimensional mixture of bass music, dark pop and sci-fi ambiece nourishing the roots of their city's noirish sonic heritage stretching right back thru their predecessors Tricky, Massive Attack and Portishead, with a trippy, disciplined and lysergic feel for space, rhythm and mood. Cleverly, all tracks are attributed to the collective as a whole, but created by individuals or compound unions. Revolving a baked dozen+1 cuts they maintain the cohesion of an identifiably smoky, paranoid sound that foregoes egos in favour of the bigger picture, oscillating from the radiophonic illness of 'Radial Sheaves' and the martian Raster (noton) vibes of 'Untitled No. 7' thru ghostly vocal integers such as 'Jupiter Rise' and the previous single 'Blood Sugar' to the titular centrepiece where all elements collide in tempered union, while the pensive drone and poetry of 'Flying' or the feeling-in-the-dark electro-acoustics of 'Eternities, Never / Ephermeral, Sometimes' render their sound at its extremities. Ultimately it's a smokers delight, and warmly recommended to those late night souls searching for mutually moody company. (Boomkat)