sw.: truelips

Over the past decade, SUED co-founder SW. has arranged the building blocks of dreamy rave and techno music -- billowing pads, undulating sub-bass, and adroit, nuanced drum programming -- into and novel dance floor structures. TRUElipS, SW.'s first full album since 2016 and his first for Avenue 66, is a beguiling, fully-realized statement. The 12-track LP is rooted in the storied '90s era when the spirit of orbital raves and free parties was channeled into massive leaps forward in the studio. A combination of house and drum n' bass looms large, as does the much-referenced intelligent techno era, but if you've listened to an SW. record, you already know TRUElipS is the work of a singular auteur. Breakbeats, rave stabs and major chords permeate the album, motoring along on a chassis of sine-wave bass lines and SW.'s widescreen percussive vision. Forays into downtempo and sweeping ambience keep the listener's head in the clouds, while the superb melodic techno constructions that comprise the album's core are at once contemplative and liable to bring on a giddy head rush. TRUElipS brims with the optimistic, escapist spirit that fueled dance music's original triumph, a throwback to bright, imagined futures.