La Prochaine Fois

Surely the most ambitious of her three Neotropic LPs, La Prochaine Fois is a double-disc project including the soundtrack on one CD and the film ("an ambient road movie") on the other. The opener "Sunflower Girl" is an evocative beginning, matching a plucked-bass solo to faraway harmonica and ambient noise. Former Verve guitarist Nick McCabe lends his talents to a pair of tracks, the first ("Cornershop Candy") an ominous, old-world production with vocals from Jarboe, the second ("Train to Katoomba") a hazy production reminiscent of the Doors. Other collaborators include the slowcore heroes Low and, on a rare breakbeat production, MC Shorti. Elsewhere, Maslen flaunts her influences from the classic 4AD sound with a rush of wintry, atmospheric productions melding digital percussion with evocative guitar textures. Definitely not what her Ninja Tune (or even Ntone) fans would expect from a Neotropic LP, but the cinematic focus to these productions makes for a solid work of exploratory electronica.