Leftfield’s This Is What We Do is the latest studio album by the electronic duo of Paul Daley and Neil Barnes – it comes some seven years after their last album Alternative Light Source, and it also showed up a few months after some personal reaffirmation that they produce some amazingly technical and stirring tunes. Around four months ago, on August 13th, I was fortunate enough to travel to Eastnor Castle with family to attend Lakefest 2022; an annual festival of music and entertainment. This year, Leftfield were one of the main attractions, and it was my first time experiencing their music in a live environment. Put simply, the event blew away my expectations, and was one of the best live sets I’ve seen. From Black Flute and Song of Life to Phat Planet and Storm 3000, each track shook the tent with big beats and vibrations, and I was left exhausted from bouncing up and down in excitement. Fast-forward to early December, and Leftfield’s This Is What We Do proves that they’re still every bit as capable of creating great music.
Leftfield’s This Is What We Do – the standouts
We were already fortunate enough to hear a few tracks from Leftfield’s This Is What We Do prior to the release of the full album; their official YouTube channel published videos for “Pulse”, “Accumulator” and a collaboration with Grian Chatten named “Full Way Round”. In particular, “Pulse” is one of the strongest tracks on the album for me, with some slick phased (or flanged? Feel free to correct me in the comments) drum beats and careful layering of secondary melodic loops that build to a satisfying peak before returning back to the initial groove established earlier on. However, there were a lot of standouts that I hadn’t heard before – “Machines Like Me” has a great change of pace that recalls the mellow tracks found in earlier albums; “Making A Difference” is punchy and purposeful, and wouldn’t sound out of place in a soundtrack for Sony’s Wipeout series. Next to “Pulse”, one of my other favourites was “Rapture 16”; with its uniquely catchy rhythm and bizarre vocal effects, it made a strong impression. However, if you like diverse and playful electronic music, you’ll probably be able to pick your own favourites from the eleven tracks that are offered by the album. (As always, you can let us know what your standout tracks are in the comments below.)
A belated highlight of 2022
I’ll admit that Leftfield’s This Is What We Do has been a bit of a slow burner for me, and that’s kind of why I hadn’t published any words about the album until now, in mid-December. Honestly, a lot of my music reviews here have leaned towards bass music rather than more subtle electronica, and I wondered if this would fit in with my other music coverage. However, I’ve also been doing some end-of-year lists and ratings in various online communities, and I feel like the album is pretty close to the top for me. (For those who are curious – at the time of writing, only the “Forms” EP by Bungle (under Scientific Records) contends for the number one spot in the personal list I’m maintaining.) The variety of different moods and vibes present in the album is commendable, and my favourite tracks are some of the best things I’ve heard in 2022. As a result, I felt like I couldn’t not talk about the album in some capacity. So this article is being published a little later than it could have been, but having enjoyed the album so much, it would be remiss to omit it entirely from our ongoing coverage of notable music releases.
Leftfield’s This Is What We Do – availability
If you want to listen to Leftfield’s This Is What We Do, it’s available now on all good streaming platforms, and you can buy the CD from their merch store – https://leftfield.probitymerch.com/collections/music – and various other outlets.