Nathan Jenkins' first public step as
Bullion was a crazy-quilt suite of
Beach Boys and
J Dilla samples. He swiftly proved that wasn't merely about pulling clever stunts. The London-based producer progressed from wayward hip-hop beats to off-center pop songs, threading
Bobby Lyle's deep ambient interlude "Inner Space" through a chunky remix of
Osborne's "Afrika" one moment, then dabbling in making proper tunes replete with his endearing vocals, which carried hints of
Sam Prekop and
Robert Wyatt. From 12" to 12", his categorically evasive instrumentals and unorthodox pop songs attained more definition and individuality and at the same time turned more collaborative. The "post-
Dilla" tag was shed as his output became more prone to comparisons to that of studio boffins like
Bill Nelson and
Thomas Dolby, or any member of
Yellow Magic Orchestra -- artists narrowly classified as synth pop.
Loop the Loop,
Jenkins' first true album, is the culmination of short-form releases for labels like
One-Handed,
Young Turks, and
R&S. Issued on his own
Deek Recordings, it's a resolutely lively and slightly dazed exploration of misshapen pop forms. Like the best of what preceded it, the album wasn't made by
Jenkins alone. The glinting title track is elevated by background vocals from
Sampha and a liquid line from saxophonist
Shabaka Hutchings.
Jessie Hackett (keyboards),
Tic Zogson, and
Laura Groves, his partners in secondary outlets
Blludd Relations and
Nautic, appear throughout, with the latter showcased in the lapping mutant house track "It's No Spirit" like an apparition of
Olivia Newton-John.
Jenkins seems to push all the right buttons, even when he does something otherwise unthinkable for 2016, such as craft a gauzy, pulsating groove that supports a saxophone -- that of
Dario Rossetti-Bonell -- as the lead instrument. Going by the seemingly happenstance way everything else is presented, it's not likely that
Jenkins and his mates were plotting to come up with a cover of an imagined
Flesh + Blood-era
Roxy Music B-side. It just came out that way. That and all else here, "written, recorded, blah blah blah by
Nathan Jenkins," as printed in the sleeve with credit-deflecting nonchalance, is delightful. ~ Andy Kellman
![True [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602537484607_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "True [Deluxe Edition]")