the record8:09
The Ninja on this record
At 122 the kick doesn't rush anything — it's a patient pulse, and Monkman uses the space above it well: pads that hang in E minor like dusk light through a window, a bassline that walks rather than drives. The energy sits at seven, which is exactly where this wants to be — present, never pushy, leaving room for the melody to do the talking.
It's a transitional record, the kind you slip in when the room is warm and you want to hold it there rather than lift it. The texture is clean, maybe a touch too clean — that Anjunadeep polish is audible in every reverb tail — but the low end carries enough weight to stop it floating off entirely. Good for the middle hour, less so for the close.