II

'II' is the aptly titled second album by Wax Stag - the alias of Rob Lee, a musician from St Albans, England - set for release on new label Old Habits. 'II' delves deeper into Wax Stag's infatuation with slower house tempos, dreamy synth sounds and vintage style drums all awash with melody and hooks.

Since the release of his self titled debut album in 2008, Rob has been travelling the world as a full time hired multi-instrumentalist for various artists including Friendly Fires, White Lies and Warp Records' Clark. Wax Stag took a back seat during this time, with the exception of the odd remix here and there for the likes of Bibio and Errors. 'II' started to take form at the end of 2011, with the first few tracks produced on a small portable setup, which ultimately set the tone of the album.

"I wanted to limit myself to a small palette of sounds for this album. Some of my favourite rock albums have the same guitar sound all the way through, and I love how that puts the emphasis on what notes are being played. There's a time and a place for production gymnastics, but I wanted to write hooks and melodies that would stand up on their own." - Rob Lee

Singles 'Summit' and 'Night Trek' typify this "less is more" approach, with clever arrangements and deft sound programming creating something altogether more majestic than the sum of their parts. The more measured tempo - most of the album is around 112bpm - also helps provide momentum without urgency, opening up the grooves to allow individual elements to naturally find their space and flourish within the track.

In a world of bombastic production that competes over immediacy, virtuosity and volume; Wax Stag 'II' demonstrates that a more genuine and significant statement can be produced by only saying what's necessary.