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Azure Noir - Antecedence EP Review

Azure Noir, the latest voice and sound in Trip-Hop, makes a startling debut on their EP Antecedence. Based out of Las Vegas, Hip Hop artist The Low (now known as Neleik) and Morguen Merlot, formerly of In Winter, have teamed up to bring us a long overdue taste of a genre gone by the wayside of late, Trip Hop. Azure Noir gives us a sample of what’s to come later in the year (with a full length CD) with Antecedence.

Antecedence is an appropriate title for their freshman effort, my only protest would be that it is an EP, in other words…the collection is too short. But no matter, all five tracks on Antecedence are liquid audio that flows through your headset like syrup...

Laced within the first track, Indirection features the beautiful voice of Merlot and Neleik's audio grooves. The song is filled with dream like images and you can’t be too sure where the song is going, however this particular beat is all about the journey and not the destination. Being lost in a song is why I listen to music, especially this genre of trip-hop/ambient. Go back and listen to the early works of Massive Attack, their first effort, “Blue Lines”, especially. My first session with Antecedence was immediately followed with a spin of “Blue Lines”; I just had to continue my trip down trip-hop lane.

Undone proceeds Indirection with what continues the haunting tone of Antecedence, and is also the longest track, coming in at just under five and half minutes. Dreamlike is the best way to describe Undone. I for one don’t want to wake up from this dream. Speeding things up just a bit, things get a little (not much mind you) gothic with the third cut, Foolish Tongues. Given Merlot’s gothic back round it is a nice touch and change of pace. And proves her ability to move with the groves Neleik lays down.

The fourth track is a fantastic remix of Indirection; I, for one, don’t dig too much on re-mixes. Why try to change it up if there is nothing wrong with it in the first place? However, the song remains the same, but the groove is amped up to eleven with just a few tweaks here and a few beats there. This re-mix is the preferred version in this humble writer’s opinion.

The EP is wrapped up with Puzzle, which is a bit of a puzzle in that it doesn’t really fit with the rest of the tracks. Hang in there folks, remember this is an EP and only a taste of what’s to come. Puzzle, being the only instrumental track on Antecedence, is just a tease of what can happen when Neleik is left with a turntable. I don’t mean to compare Azure Noir with other bands; I mean any comparison as a compliment. With that in mind, I can’t help but hear a little taste of Portishead in this last track, coming in at just over sixty seconds I wanted much more.

Alas for now we have to wait for more, and it is on the way. Look for a full-length album from Azure Noir in the coming months. I love this combination of blue and black.