Review | Album review: second album Melt is a bold step forward for Boxed In
Multi-instrumentalist Oli Bayston mixes beats and loops with paranoid vocals and intricate piano lines on his assured second album


Melt
Nettwerk
Oli Bayston is a man of many talents. A songwriter, programmer, multi-instrumentalist and frontman of indie dance-pop outfit Boxed In, the young Londoner is also a prolific artist. His acclaimed debut album was recorded in just 10 days and it’s followed barely a year later by a bolder second effort, Melt. Boxed In, with echoes of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, is very much the brainchild of one man – Bayston creates deft beats and hypnotic loops, with live instrumentation provided by drummer Liam Hutton, bassist Mark Nicholls and guitarist Jack Benfield. Defined by looped, paranoid vocals and intricate piano lines, Jist is a punchy techno-synth-pop opener and as naggingly addictive as anything by James Murphy’s recently reformed Soundsystem. Bayston’s vocals are subtle and understated, especially on Up to You/Down to Meand the dreamy title track, on which melody and rhythm have been layered over the swirling, propulsive grooves. Melt is the sound of Bayston taking a confident leap into an apparently bright future.
