Bonobo Dial ‘M’ For Monkey
Keep it simple, stupid. Bonobo, a.k.a. Simon Green, is one of the few electronic producers […]
Keep it simple, stupid. Bonobo, a.k.a. Simon Green, is one of the few electronic producers to heed that annoying yet sage advice, and the result is a warm, beautifully crafted follow-up to his 2001 debut, Animal Magic. The sonic territory covered here is much the same, with delicate guitars and the occasional sitar nestled next to plucky basslines and crisp drum work. Yet Green’s sophomore effort shows a maturing sense of song structure. The tracks are still loop-based, but cuts like “Change Down” and “Wayward Bob” shine with careful addition and subtraction, their basic elements factoring together to become a more significant whole. At a concise 40 minutes, Dial ‘M’ For Monkey doesn’t overstay its welcome, feeling like the aural equivalent of a good friend’s briefly shared secret dream.