A.S.O. - s/t

In demand repress of one of 2023’s breakout acts, the reasons for which appear somewhat inevitable on closer examination. a.s.o are the duo of Berlin-based vocalist Alia Seror-O'Neill and cult producer, Tornado Wallace (aka Lewis Day), the latter of whom has spent a good minute or two spinning around the outer edges of the Australian electronic underground. Previous form aside, it certainly feels like a case of right place/right time with this latest project. The combination of downtempo electronica, smokey midnight ethereality and sultry trip hop seems tailor made for a new generation of young listeners TikTok drip-fed 90s nostalgia but in search of their own contemporary expressions. Seror-O'Neill plays the role of coquettish femme-fatale well and Day's seasoned hand is adept enough to get the finer details just so, hitting that desired (g?) spot between the romantic glamour of Chromatics, Bowery Electric mystery and 90s Bristol psychodrama. Plenty of examples of this kind of thing before and presently, but a.s.o. do manage to get the balance just right, and most crucially, in a way that suggests you don't need to descend into the creepbag toxicity of the frankly awful Cigarettes After Sex in order to channel both seduction and longing. For that, amongst other things, we can be thankful.