Jon Hopkins: "Insides"
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I bought the new album by Jon Hopkins some time ago. "Insides" is a direct continuance to where Contact Note left off 5 years ago. The sound is true to his style and the listener is treated to a few great songs (including one where Coldplay is generously sampled off into a "Point of Departure by Necros"-esque electronica journey), but something is left to be desired. Hopkins has never strayed far from the path laid out in "Opalescent", and that has served him well on his first two studio albums. By now, however, some amount of reinventing himself musically would be required. I myself should know better than most that you can only get so much mileage out of working with the same themes for years on end.

"Insides" no longer manages to inspire awe from the listener like "Opalescent" did in its day. Some gentle breaking of the mold melodically would have benefitted this album tremendously. As it stands it is essential for a Hopkins fan, seeing as he has produced a mere 3 albums in 8 years. But if you're new to Hopkins and looking for some bigbeat/electronica-influenced IDM / melodic ambient music, just find yourself the first 2 Hopkins albums instead of this.

(Editor's note: I have previously reviewed both of the other Jon Hopkins albums. Give those a read in the music/reviews section!)

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