After years spent carving out a name for themselves in the underground dance scene, Northern Irish electronic duo Bicep came crashing into the mainstream with their 2017 self-titled debut album, an unexpected top 20 hit in the UK albums chart. It was a long way to come from their origins with the FeelMyBicep blog which was a staple of the house scene in the late 2000s, but it was no less than the pair deserved.

Comprised of Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar, Bicep used the runaway success of that debut to take their show on the road with a huge tour that took in Primavera, Coachella and Glastonbury before a triumphant three-night sold-out run of shows at Printworks in London. Work on the follow up began long before lockdown, but unable to play live, Bicep honed their output and, this week, dropped Isles, the long-awaited follow-up to that debut.

Lead single Apricots perfectly fuses their energy and experimentalism and is accompanied by a standout video directed by BAFTA-winning director Mark Jenkin, while Atlas – released to rave reviews in March last year – opens the album with its skidding, triumphant feel. The chaotic yet soulful Sundial brilliantly samples Bollywood song Jab Andhera Hota Hai. X meanwhile is a little slice of future-sourced electro, and Rever and Suku are arguably the spacey, stretched out peaks of the album.

Writing on their official Facebook page to thank their teams for their support with the album, the duo wrote: “We’re absolutely over the moon to finally get this out to everyone! Huge thanks to all our fans for listening and supporting us. Whilst we’re unable to do an album release party - we’re looking forward to celebrating the release of Isle with you at our live stream in Feb. Whilst it’s our name on the record it could never have happened without the wonderful team of people working on it over the past 2 years, which have been particularly challenging.”

Isles tracklist:

1. Atlas

2. Cazenove

3. Apricots

4. Saku

5. Lido

6. X

7. Rever

8. Sundial

9. Fir

10. Hawk

Watch the official video for Apricots below.

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.