The Bristol based electronic group boldly splice genres on a striking new album.

SCALER are most definitely attention grabbing. If there is an indie-music tastemaker then they have either done an interview with this band or raved about them at length. They released their first album Void back in 2022. It attracted positive praise. This new release is an immense improvement on their debut. Listening to it is not dissimilar to hearing Leftfield’s Rhythm and Stealth for the first time – an album that constantly surprises you, makes you think about it and find out who each collaborator is. SCALER are Alex Hill, Isaac Jones, James Rushforth and Nick Berthoud, alongside visual artist Jason Baker.

‘quiet when it speaks’ is a warm-up. It almost leans towards an air of menace but manages to stay as an intriguing and at times atonal opener. It bursts straight into album highlight ‘Salt’ featuring Akiko Haruna, a Brighton artist working across multiple medias. It is a classic slice of Bristolian trip-hop with a slightly darker edge; Massive Attack would be very proud of this band picking up their local legacy and running with it.

‘Broken Entry’ has a range of similar interests constructing it before ‘Mirage’ pulses along with a vocal from Art School Girlfriend. The end result is like a strong track by The XX.

‘(yearn)’ mixes UNKLE atmospherics with a drum and bass backing beat. ‘Evolve’ is highly evocative with another top guest spot from another Bristol resident, Tlya X An. The album constantly shifts genres and styles whilst somehow maintaining a highly coherent whole.

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ELDON helps to bring out the heavy guitars for ‘Salvation.’ This one is brilliant with real in your face energy and attitude. Final track ‘Ravine’ maintains that high level of edge but ditches the guests to allow the band to finish with the focus firmly on themselves.

I went into this album without preconceptions and that helped me to be repeatedly surprised by the cleverness, intensity and bold stylings on show. This is an important album. SCALER have been going for about seven years, but this feels like the band have just discovered their true purpose and what they can achieve when they open themselves up to the collaborative process. This is very good; you suspect their next album might end up truly special.