Few pop bands mix altitudes with the ease of AlunaGeorge. Down in the soil are producer George Reid’s basslines—sluffing, roiling creatures of many legs and the ceaseless forward motion of the animal brain. And up in the ether is singer Aluna Francis’ filmy, nasal falsetto, gathering frost as it drifts along. Off the strength of their first, excellently slippery electro-R&B singles, “You Know You Like It” and “Your Drums, Your Love,” they were shortlisted for the BBC’s Sound of 2013 poll, eventually coming in second (to Haim). Their consolation prize wasn’t bad, though: “White Noise,” a hit collab with Disclosure, scaled the UK Singles Chart to No. 2.
While the duo’s absorbing first album, Body Music, followed faithfully in the vein of their debut singles—chirping, sinuous club tracks, owing as much to Aaliyah as SBTRKT or Quadron—their follow-up, I Remember, kicks up dust in some unlikely new area codes. It cribs largely from dancehall, but stops short of adopting any of that form’s humidity; these diaphanous tracks are a long stream of cool appraisal. Francis thrives again in moments of sass, but she also muses on more overtly dense topics like consent and modern sexuality. They punctuate long spools of interconnected synth beats that perfectly bleed together for a dance floor of noncommittal swaying.
On “I’m in Control,” which features the Jamaican dancehall vocalist Popcaan, she shrugs off a lacking suitor by trilling, “You gotta go deeper than deep to get me off,” at once playful and damning. Its punchy house-lite beat is a distorted reflection of “Mean What I Mean,” another track hewing to themes of sexual consent, ultimately impassive due to Francis’ parceled-out delivery (“I mean what I mean when I say so/Not trying to be mean when I say no/So don’t play the fool and twist my rules”). In one of the bolder dance moments, “Not Above Love,” dark bass lines cave into another listless chorus: “You keep robbin’ my heart like a bank/No thank you.” It’s a curious quirk throughout that AlunaGeorge come in heavy in the verses—stuffing bass into every crevice—and then wind down or duck out by the choruses, stalling the motor.
The title track feels like the lone emotional counterpoint and borrows the well-timed stutters and slow-seeping synths of its coproducer, Flume. “I Remember” is a song so sorely nostalgic and bittersweet, it’s hard to hear on repeat, unless you’re the type to enjoy tilling the soot of past love affairs. Francis flutters around an old beau, remembering the heady and harsh times alike, finally alighting back in his arms. Reid’s slyly crushing, nipping and futuristic beat helps carry the emotion. “I remember, I remember, I remember the fights/Burning deep into the night,” she sings with soft, heartrending hope. “I remember, I remember, I remember your scent/When I just woke up and I’m on your chest.” Remembering the earliest promise is half the fun, after all—because next time, they could still surprise you.
