- Brogan Bentley may live in San Francisco, but his music fits neatly into the context of LA, his original home and musical inspiration. The Snake is his first album, following a cassette on Leaving Records, the label run by Low End Theory staple Matthewdavid. Not adhering to any particular genre, and presenting something beyond the stylistic elements it uses as raw materials, it's an album that admirably wears its artistic ambitions on its sleeve.
Bentley calls The Snake "sonic documentation of coming into new skin, living in it and shedding it." For the last two years, he's been hard at work shaping his sound as an artist. It shows: Brogan has an individual vision, one he expresses clearly on The Snake. That vision is a smoky one, seen through the gauze of various genres, from footwork to rave to garage and jungle. Reverb wraps around the various signifiers here, which are muted and washed together, hidden in the mist. But they aren't just blunt imitations of styles—Bentley genuinely conveys pre-rave chill out, euphoria and post-rave burnout with a touching sensitivity.
If that brings to mind a certain producer from South London, well, The Snake sometimes does sound a lot like him. "What If I Fall" and "Secret Strength" both have the hallmarks of Burial: a hollow, skittering two step in the first, a funereal Reese bassline in the second, pitch-shifted vocal clips in both. "Last Light," one of the album's highlights, is blissed-out, shot through with spasmodic acid lines and overlaid with Moby-esque pads. The doomy Planet Mu-style jungle of "The Wolf" features plucks, deep pads and a grandiose hoover bass. "Goodbye" is unmistakably an ending, one that sees early '90s jungle through the same blurred lens as the rest of the tracks.
The Snake doesn't quite deliver on its concept—I suppose, in a way, the album winds through genres like a snake shedding its skin, but overall it feels like the concept has followed the music, rather than the other way round. Nevertheless, it's an album with depth and beauty, and it points to interesting things to come from Bentley.
Tracklist01. The Difference
02. Dawn
03. No Less
04. Heal
05. Last Light
06. What If I Fall
07. Secret Strength
08. The Wolf
09. Smoke
10. Give Myself To You
11. St. John
12. Goodbye