#reissue

Here that playfulness is apparent as soon as the deep, sometimes jazzy house grooves of “Level 21” and “Pegasus Man” begin Will. The latter especially makes for a more bumping companion to the then-recent smash hit St. Germain LP Tourist, but things here quickly get a little more varied than that. “Alpine Nation” spikes the BPM and reminds listeners of how good Yokota makes his samples and loops sound, always giving them a kind of lush, surreal reality (and is that little vocal fillip a bit from the Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes For You” years before The Field got there?). Yokota doesn’t shy away from keeping a break dusty or another element lo-fi if it suits the mood of the track, but even then, his work feels like it’s in audio Technicolor.

After four tracks of more upbeat, overtly danceable tracks, Will downshifts in an intriguing way. First “Illusion River” shuffles along with late-night piano twinkles and haunting, indistinct vocals, then “Black Sea” somehow builds an incredibly compelling slow burn out of little more than a drum loop, reverbed snapping fingers, and far-away organ washes. You wouldn’t cut a rug to it like you would to “Level 21,” but it’s a nigh-irresistible head nodder. But it’s also a headfake, with the album ending with two of its more intensely danceable cuts before ushering you out the door with the patient, gentle churn of “Flower and Butterfly.” Will was apparently designed as an homage to Yokota’s DJ nights in Tokyo, and it has the variety and flow to show for it. On this evidence, the fact that we can’t go see Yokota on the decks anymore is just one more thing to mourn.