Nicolas Jaar’s debut album was titled Space is Only Noise, a name that reads like a blueprint for Jaar’s musical philosophy. During his young (but accomplished) career, the twenty-two-year-old has experimented with minimal arrangements where the vacuum between elements is given as much attention as audible sound.
With the recently released “And I Say,” Jaar continues his minimalist tradition, with a track that mixes lounge-y pop and spare bass music, to great, often disconcerting effect. Two key elements come together to make the track successful: Scout Larue’s vocals (Yes, that Scout. The one who happens to be Demi and Bruce's daughter.), and a searing free-jazz saxophone that rips in and out of the song. Larue’s voice is airy and sexy in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the track, while the sax explodes violently in warbling bursts. Yet even as these elements balance each other out, it’s the space in between that makes it all work; for Jaar, silence remains his greatest weapon.
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