With the once undernourished Irish electronic scene now growing in quality and notoriety, along come Nouveaunoise with a debut that may well be the jewel in its crown. The duo of Niall Conway and Conor Gaffney have fashioned a brilliantly rich and complex record that demands repeated listens, revealing new wonders each time. From the exotic fade-in of first track 'Goni', you know you're in for an aural treat. An expertly constructed record, Paraphrase Accolade takes its disparate influences and creates something original. In terms of influences, those Four Tet comparisons won't go away anytime soon, while the aforementioned 'Goni' sounds like Air being introduced to the funk, with the wistfully breathy female vocals returning on 'Panaka'. The otherworldly rumbling that opens that track will put you in mind of My Bloody Valentine.
Indeed, this is an album, like Loveless, that works best as a whole, with tracks disappearing into, and sonic landscapes gliding across, each other. Vocals wash over drumbeats, woozy ambience sits alongside vibrant dance numbers – amazingly, it all sounds utterly effortless. It's a very human sound – 'organic' being the label often bandied about. It is a beautiful digital creation masquerading in a coat of analogue warmth. Robots jamming with street musicians.
Individual moments and sounds jump out at you, as the songs themselves twist and change shape in the space of a few seconds. The quality remains uniformly high. 'Supposed Something', a jittery, vaguely jazzy cocktail propelled forward by an upright bass, is particularly recommended, as is the gorgeous melancholy of 'Make Light', which turns euphoric by its shimmering close.
'Paperdew' is the album's gentle kiss-off, ending with some crashing symbols by way of fanfare. Immediately you want to hit 'play' again. By introducing some real instruments and synthesizing their influences into its own distinctive sound, Nouveaunoise have located Ireland's electronic soul. They deserve all the accolades they get.