Strategy

***For his 20th album, Strategy set out to unite divergent interests into a thematically cohesive set geared equally to headphone immersion or sound system endurance tests. A sequel to the 2015 LP Seeds of Paradise (Idle Hands), The Wet Room starts where that album concludes, both figuratively (a shared perspective from satellite orbit) and literally (playing them in order reveals a seamless continuum). Under the broad umbrella of chill-out—heady, imaginative electronic music that evokes eddies of ecstatic wonder and mystery—The Wet Room unites syrupy bass workouts, generative freeform bubblers, captured freak transmissions, and dubbed-out mixing board sessions into a purposeful, yet liquid, choreography. Strategy’s take on the genre might appear antithetical: uneasy soundbites would seem to be at odds with the gravitational pull to escapism. Strategy weaves these contradictions together and invites listeners to draw their own conclusions. Like all Strategy albums, this merits deep and repeated listening, when those with patience will find themselves rewarded with buried secret messages, nods to lost futures, and sonic ‘easter eggs.'