Fans of Los Angeles-based musician Alfred Darlington, a.k.a Daedelus, are quick to emphasize the DJ's continual defiance of genre. He mixes elements of jazz, rock, dubstep, film clips and ambient noise—critics claim he mixes with abandon for an eclectic repertoire. Whether you believe that or not, the trend of listen-ability is one he fully continues in Bespoke, a Ninja Tune release that exemplifies Daedelus at his best and most controversial.
Like his 2008 release Love to Make Music To, Bespoke features numerous collaborations with the likes of Busdriver, Inara George and other West Coast acts. Yet from the opening track, ""Tailor-Made,"" it's clear Daedelus makes no accommodations for these colleagues, as raucous disco beats and background sirens nearly drown out the sparse vocals, suggesting that his guests can barely keep pace. The appropriately named ""Overwhelmed"" suffers from similar imbalance, though it's saved by a deft mix of dubstep and traditional rock rhythms uncharacteristic of Daedelus' signature audio potpourri. Sadly, its preceding track, ""French Cuffs"", achieves no such reprieve, an unmitigated earsore of discordant French crooning and tribal drums that breaks the album's streak of surprisingly listenable track: A little variety never hurts, I suppose.
For all the talk of Daedelus' genre-defying genius, at times his deviance sounds more akin to a weakness in Bespoke, thanks to choppy editing that segregates, rather than mixes, the numerous stylistic samples. While it's certainly possible to pick out elements of jazz or eurobeat in selections like ""Penny Loafers"" or the show-tune brass of ""Suit Yourself,"" none of the tracks develop beyond a few memorable hooks amidst waves of relentless synth, and point to Daedelus' DJ sets desperately masquerading as full-fledged songs.
Beyond that, however, Bespoke does sport a few gems, such as the lively electronic beats of ""Sew, Darn and Mend"" or the calming denouement of ""Nightcap."" Indeed, Daedelus sounds best working alone, and one almost wishes for instrumental versions of many of the album's singles, despite the undeniably high-quality voice work. Unlike many previous releases, Bespoke is certainly easier on the ears, and it's not difficult to imagine any one of its selections playing over the tinny speakers of a ‘modish' bookstore or café—it's merely a shame the album never aspires beyond an audio experiment of wildly variable quality. For all its motif of fine, tailor-made clothing, Bespoke more approximates the audio equivalent of a patchwork clown suit than the stylish tuxedos to which it professes.
