Written, produced and performed by the fantastically named Raleigh Moncrief, Watered Lawn is an ambitious debut album that’s sprawling in its variety. With no conventional flow and each track sounding different from the next, the Californian producer meshes styles and complex electronic arrangements to create a dense, rambling narrative.

It’s a strange sound to describe, drawing from countless sources – as many Anticon label artists do. Grounded in avant-garde soul, but not explicitly so, there’re elements of hip hop and electronica, psychedelic and even indie-pop to be heard. Moncrief throws together a multitude of influences and seemingly picks at random, creating a network of incongruous sounds and beats which might feel too abstract for some. There’s not a consistent sound here to help steer you, more like a consistently cluttered vibe that hooks you in, even if you don’t quite understand what’s going on.

The frantic compositions of the opening tracks The Air, A Day to Die and I Just Saw all shift with their intensified synth buzz and oddball rhythms, before we’re rewarded with the fantastic instrumental In This Grass. J-Dilla like drum patterns combine with West African sounding guitar to craft the first genuine highlight of the record.

It’s Lament for Morning though that really stands out. Moncrief changes tack through throbbing, stretched out layers, which provide the backbone to his most accessible track. There’s no experimental showboating here and it punctuates the unusual ambience of the album perfectly. Again the tones are altered once more as the remainder of the songs twist stylistically with only really the spacey pop of Don’t Shoot being notable.

Watered Lawn sounds like an album crafted from instinct, but despite the variety and experimentation it does feel laboured at points. However, with some of the record’s best moments taking a series of listens to get your head around, it’s worth persevering with.

-Jamie Nicholson-