Anna Meredith - Fibs

Arriving three and a half years on from the release of Anna Meredith's Scottish Album of the Year Award-winning debut studio album Varmints, FIBS is 45 minutes of technicolour maximalism, almost perpetual rhythmic reinvention, and boasts a visceral richness and unparalleled accessibility. FIBS is no "Varmints Part 2" - the retreading of old ground, or even a smooth progression from one project to another, just isn't Meredith's style. Instead, if anything, it's "Varmints 2.0", an overhauled and updated version of the composer's soundworld, involving, in places, a literal retooling that has seen Meredith chuck out her old MIDI patches and combine her unique compositional voice with brand-new instruments, both acoustic and electronic, and a writing process that's more intense than she's ever known. Despite Meredith's background and skills these tracks are no academic exercise, the world of FIBS is at both overwhelming and intimate, a journey of intense energy and joyful irreverence.