96 Back concludes his trilogy of 2021 releases with ‘Love Letters, Nine Through Six‘, his new full-length album. This piece represents his most vivid and ambitious work to date. It breaks new ground as 96 Back uses his own vocals for the first time, edging on experimental pop and yet made with precision for the club. The LP is due out November 5th, 2021 in vinyl & digital formats via Local Action. Stay tuned, full details below.
Pre order vinyl: Bandcamp
Following March’s 9696 Dream mixtape and July’s Flex Time EP, this new album sees 96 Back shine the spotlight on his own vocals for the first time, at points (such as on lead single ‘9 To Find 6’) operating fully in the realms of experimental pop. At other times, such as on ‘Teach Me Tenderness’ and ‘Feel Hard’, 96 Back stretches and processes his vocals to almost breaking point, while album closer ‘Melt You’ sees him duet with past collaborator Iceboy Violet, ending Love Letters on a sombre but romantic note.
That’s not to say Love Letters is fully removed from the dancefloor, however: tracks like ‘Don’t Die’ and ‘Love Compact’ are precision-tooled for the club, while the likes of ‘Felzin’ and ‘Vibrant Colours’ continue to explore the intricate but emotive electronics that 96 Back has been so successful with in the past.
More varied and vivid than any of 96 Back’s releases to date, Love Letters feels like a coming of age moment. It casts its net incredibly wide at points, and it’s an album full of ambition, but it meets every challenge it sets itself — as affecting in its quieter, tender moments as during its dramatic peaks.
In 96 Back’s words: “This is a record I feel like I’ve been trying to write for years, it feels like the most accurate body of work to match the ideas in my mind. Trying to project a lot of the records I hold very dear to me through this lens, interpreting how they sound to me and merging them with ideas of finding the drama and excitement in the full spectrum of emotions on the tip of my tongue, that’s what ended up being Love Letters, Nine Through Six.”
Artist. 96 Back
Title. Love Letters, Nine Through Six
Label. Local Action – LOCLP019
Format. Vinyl LP / DL
Release date. November 5th, 2021
Tracklist.
- Felzin
- 9 To Find 6
- Gull Sad
- Wisp
- Vibrant Colours
- Teach Me Tenderness
- Don’t Die (feat. Joe Paisan)
- Love Compact Vibrant Colours
- Soft Interlude
- I Don’t Want To Play Tonight (feat. Tryphème)
- Feel Hard
- Melt You (feat. Iceboy Violet)
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