After her debut Hyperdub full-length, For You and I, became one of 2019's most acclaimed electronic releases, Loraine James was highly prolific throughout 2020. She independently issued three EPs and an album of demos and outtakes, contributed to numerous compilations and benefit releases, and remixed artists such as Darkstar and object blue. Nothing, her second Hyperdub release, is an EP that follows a loose narrative, gradually progressing from numbness to a semblance of clarity. The title track is a blurry rush of complex IDM beats, trancey synths, and ghostly background voices, with James' refrain about feeling nothing shivering away at the center. "Marg" features Tardast rapping in Farsi over more tense, paranoid beats that scramble over each other. The EP's highlight is "Don't You See It?," a fractured avant-pop tune sung by HTRK's Jonnine Standish that adds her group's sensuality to James' hyperactive beats, which are set at a trip-hop tempo but restlessly twitch and splatter. "The Starting Point" is nearly all beats and distorted bass, starting out with a crunchy, upfront grime rhythm before a more happy-go-lucky garage beat skips in. Even during an atmospheric piano breakdown, the beats barely sit still, quickly building back up to an agitated, jittery state. While less of an event than For You and I, Nothing is still a quality effort that showcases James' skills at creatively interpreting her emotions. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi

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