‘The Day Out of Time’ is the “new” album from Bristol-based duo, THE DEGREES (Charlie Bierman and Isha Campbell). We’ve been tracking the band for a year or so now via their regular singles. Amongst those were ‘All Said And Done’ (a hybrid of neo-soul, trip hop and acid jazz with an ethereal feel) and ‘Need You’, which was a little tougher but still haunting and ethereal.
Now the two Degrees release their debut album, ‘The Day Out of Time’. However, we’ve learned that the long player is totally “new”. It was recorded back in 2020 at the famous Rockfield Studios in Wales but there’s no explanation about the delay. What matters is that the 12 tracker has been picked up by Goldie’s Fallen Tree 1Hundred label and it’s good to go right now.
Musically, you can expect more of the same mix of Bristolian neo-soul and trip-hop which the singles delivered . The Bristol vibe is most apparent on the ghostly ‘Blinded’ and ‘No Escape’.
The Degrees and their team say that the album “aims to provide an authentic ‘artist album listening experience that, if we’re honest, is generally gone in today’s playlist-driven streaming world, the music alone stands up here”. Wouldn’t argue with that and if the more ethereal end of contemporary soul is your thing you will probably want to investigate.
