Having been attacked close to his East London studio,
John Leafcutter began enduring panic attacks whenever he ventured outdoors, a condition that rapidly developed into a full-blown agoraphobia.
The Housebound Spirit, his third album, is something a reaction to this syndrome, in taking the home as its source of samples. Like
Herbert's
Bodily Functions and
Around the House, both of which assimilated similarly found sounds to create accomplished grooves, so
Leafcutter manages to refrain from falling into full-blown introspection. Instead, the construction of tracks from everything including the kitchen sink makes for some compelling listening -- devilishly fresh sounding electronica conjured from the clicks, rattles, and rolls of household apparatus before the more recognisable instrumentation that drives "House or a Soul" and the smouldering "For Two" bring the album back from the brink. ~ Kingsley Marshall