★★★★★
Electronic harlequin Alfred Darlington swaps the dapper threads of the frequently ravishing hyper lounge 'Bespoke' for a new season of elegant dysfunction with his new album as Daedelus, 'Drown Out'. A wardrobe of synthetic materials on a hot and cold wash keeps him looking and sounding sharp, partnered by a darker, sometimes chafing balaclava covering chillwave/maximalist ideas and deconstructions, 8-bit missions, jazz redrafts and Morse code exchanges...
- www.clashmusic.com
2013-10-07
★★★★★
Many artists would pay to have the problem that L.A. beat scene veteran Daedelus has-- a surplus of ideas. Accordingly, his albums, including his newest effort Drown Out, can seem like they have multiple personalities, jam-packed with ideas that don't necessarily jive. Drown Out is Daedelus's first record for Anticon-- he hops from label to label as easily as he hops concepts-- but rather than displaying any artistic growth, he seems to be settling back into his old ways...
- pitchfork.com
2013-09-16
★★★★★
I'm not trying to break into musical success, I can tell you that right now. But I understand everything about it, this desire or rather need to be different to actually gain any attention, good or bad. There are so many artists these days that it's a necessity to stand out or you'll forever be playing in pubs and cafes to audiences of about ten people...
- hangout.altsounds.com
2011-08-01
★★★★★
California's resident electro DJ/producer Alfred Darlington, known musically as Daedelus, does a great many things on his 2011 release Bespoke. Getting a lot done is one thing and is no easy feat. So where Bespoke might understandably be criticized in spots for lacking listener accessibility, it's important to remember that the trade off for this is an album brimming with ideas...
- www.popmatters.com
2011-05-30
★★★★★
Alfred Darlington (a.k.a. Daedelus) is a dandy fella who usually has a keen nose for grooves he exhumes from discarded pop records hidden below the stacks of one-dollar Streisand albums that pollute LA's thrift shops. At his best, he floats in a psychedelic hip-hop/IDM realm that can recall De La Soul's "D.A.I.S.Y. Age." That said, Bespoke often shoots for the psych virtue of sensory overload and instead ends up a frustrating mess. Sometimes the kitchen-sink ethic clicks...
- www.xlr8r.com
2011-05-06
★★★★★
The term "bespoke" refers to the detail-oriented process of making custom-made clothing; it's also the name of the new full-length from Los Angeles-based electronic veteran Alfred Darlington, aka Daedelus. Excluding the man's sartorial fixations, the name seems like an ill fit...
- pitchfork.com
2011-04-24
★★★★★
When describing Bespoke, Daedelus defined it as a "term employed to mean an item custom-made to measure." He explained that he chose the title not just as a reflection of the album's music, but also as an outlook on lift itself. As such, even with his busy touring and recording schedule, the multi-instrumentalist put on his perfectionist cap while crafting this album. And there's a good reason for that as he's again linked with guests from across the globe and musical spectrum...
- www.prefixmag.com
2011-04-18
★★★★★
Alfred Darlington is a musical magpie, hoarding the shiniest elements of his contemporaries' output, skipping from label to label, appropriating and assimilating sounds to spin cluttered nests of agreeable electronica. Despite his most obvious attempts to build himself a persona -- a faintly Steampunk dress sense and well-trimmed set of chops, prominent use of the Monome -- Daedelus lacks a sonic signature. At its worst, his work feels both stultifyingly basic and overstuffed...
- tinymixtapes.com
2011-04-18
★★★★★
One listen to Bespoke confirms that the mind of Alfred Darlington, better known to us as Daedelus, remains an extremely busy place. If anything his musical invention is even more fertile and colourful than ever. Darlington, it seems, is still obsessed with the clothing of the Victorian era and the music of the future - and both come into play on a record crammed full of incident, colour and energy...
- www.musicomh.com
2011-04-11
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