Godford delivers a cohesive effort on I YOU SHE

I YOU SHE follows acclaimed debut album Non Binary Place, and simultaneously pushes the boat out a little more and tightens up what Godford is focussing on. Non Binary Place could have been heard in a club, with its pulsating dancefloor rhythms, and it was a transformative listen – but what I YOU SHE does that’s more challenging is provide a tangible third-person feeling. More serene soundscapes serve to cast a misty veil over visions of a euphoric, writhing nightclub scene, the calmer tracks creating an atmosphere that captures the visuals somehow even more than the more danceable tunes.

Though the album is primarily instrumental, blending flickers of vocal samples with throbbing synth ostinatos that punctuate the percussion, Godford’s lyrical choices are all the more poignant. From the ethereal and angelic to London mutterings that are comfortingly down-to-earth, they use the similarities and contrasts to really build the depth of I YOU SHE. There’s also a constant flickering between soaring femininity and slick masculinity in the assertiveness of the vocal samples that makes for a magnetic journey through the music.

I YOU SHE does somewhat all blend into one. It’s primarily at one pace; a lot of the tracks build their textures up to one (albeit rich) level, but is that necessarily a problem? Perhaps not, in I YOU SHE’s case. Rather than repetitive, it creates the illusion of one forty-minute long song, seamlessly swimming between subtle fluctuations of mood – it’s cohesive, for sure, but would maybe be more impactful if Godford chose their biggest peaks and made them just a little bigger.