Calibre's new album "Grow" for Craig Richards' label The Nothing Special. Calibre has always felt more like an illustrator than a master painter. He seems to work to a brief rather than being overly spontaneous or impulsive. He's adept with familiar genre studies that stand out for their impeccable execution. That's the case again on Grow, Dominick Martin's first full-length for Craig Richards' The Nothing Special, a place where the multifaceted producer has dallied in 4/4 styles for the last few years. Grow ditches Martin's usual drum & bass fare, but it's still full of high tempos, low-end menace and bluesy atmospheres. It sounds meant for an urban excursion in the dead of night, too, save for the tender chords, wandering double bass and pained trumpets of early highlight "Groove Seeker." This isn't trendy stuff, but it sure is effective, which is likely why Richards is such a fan. Across the album, Martin plays with tempos and beat patterns, which helps his more functional tracks work individually as well as when stitched together over 70-odd minutes. The first half has sombre laments like "Limbo," ghoulish and druggy house cuts like "Mention"—a track that sounds tailormade for one of Richards' sets—and UKG like "Softly Softly." Even unfashionable dubstep wobblers like "Over The Top," which brings to mind early Skream, sound vital in Martin's hands. Grow builds towards a fitting high point. "Your Endless Sea" is a breezy electro release before "Rust" goes surprisingly off-grid. It's paranoid, restless, intergalactic and laced with tender pianos, an anomalous standout amongst the album's more familiar tracks. Martin's jazz chops are well known, but the rippling, shimmering "A River Alone" is another fine reminder of them. Closing track "Stars We Can See" cuts loose from the dance floor and drifts off into the cosmos, closing yet another strong album from Calibre. Mastered by Lewis Hopkin at Star Delta Mastering.
