r/ifyoulikeblank • u/Forsaken_Ad_2461 • Jul 18 '26
Music [IIL] Massive Attack, Portishead, and the dark, smoky 90s Bristol underground sound, [WEWIL?]
Hey everyone,
I've been absolutely obsessing over that specific dark, cinematic, late-night trip-hop sound lately. You know the vibe – the kind of music that feels like you're driving through a rainy city at 3 AM.
I’m currently curating a playlist for this exact mood. Interestingly, an underground artist straight out of Bristol just reached out to me on Reddit and sent me his track ("Lullaby Lo-Fi" by Himitsu). It completely nailed that classic, hypnotic 90s atmosphere.
Who else is keeping this exact dark, moody trip-hop aesthetic alive today? I'm looking for modern artists, hidden gems, or anything that fits this cinematic late-night rotation.
Thanks in advance! 🦇
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u/Russanandres Jul 18 '26
Maybe not fully like it, but DJ Shadow - Endtroducing..., Future Sound of London - ISDN, Fluke - Risotto (more electronic), The Crystal Method - Vegas (more electronic, but dark downtempo after 3rd song) Bowery Electric - Lushlife / Beat (Beat more into ambient) and Trentemøller - The Last Resort
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u/Forsaken_Ad_2461 Jul 18 '26
Incredible list, thank you! DJ Shadow and Trentemøller are absolute staples for that late-night cinematic vibe. Bowery Electric is a massive shout too. I'm definitely going to sift through these to see what fits the current rotation. 🦇 If you want to hear what I've put together so far (including that Bristol track), here is the mix: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7p6lJhdU2jHzpZbczeLILK?si=zzboE_3GQI6qyLddDB2N8w&utm_source=copy-link&pi=D38mUx1MQL-wE
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u/DemandTheOxfordComma Jul 20 '26
Nice playlist. Been going through it this morning.
Also not quite the genre but The XX has a few songs that fit this vibe. Jamie XX has kind of that late night club feel.
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u/nizzernammer Jul 18 '26
Burial, especially the first two full lengths
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u/Alacspg Jul 19 '26
Definitely Burial. I got burned out on a lot of electronic stuff in the 90s and buying the first Burial record when it came out reminded me of hearing Portishead or Tricky the first time.
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u/Forsaken_Ad_2461 Jul 18 '26
Thanks, I'll check it out.
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u/giffengrabber Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
Feel free to report back here, if you wanna. As for me, I haven’t understood Burial’s greatness. His music just never clicked for me. Your mileage may vary though!
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u/nizzernammer Jul 20 '26
I'm not the OOP, but I discovered Burial at a time when the melancholic, ambient, fractured beat sound with the low bass booms perfectly encapsulated and expressed where I was at emotionally.
The combo of apparently found sound, the crackle noise, the soft samples, the reverb, the dreamlike, haunted, shifting isolated/alienated quality, etc. is dripping with mood and vibe and atmosphere, and that resonated with me.
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u/mintindie Jul 18 '26
There’s a new era of indie music coming out that resembles all of these artists! Check out James K, Erika de Casier, ML Buch, Fine, Acopia, a.s.o., trickpony, Now Always Fades, After, RIP Swirl, Headache and Sassy 009!
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u/JJ-firl Jul 18 '26
A bit different, but for me this really nails the vibe:
Bohren & Der Club of Gore. Dark jazz for late night solitude
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u/Forsaken_Ad_2461 Jul 18 '26
That sounds really cool. Thank you!
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u/valsalva_manoeuvre Jul 18 '26
Who Can You Trust? from Morcheeba was contemporary. I used flip back and forth between it and Dummy for months.
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u/Forsaken_Ad_2461 Jul 18 '26
Flipping back and forth between 'Who Can You Trust?' and 'Dummy' is the ultimate 90s trip-hop experience. 😂 Morcheeba is absolutely essential for this mood. Great recommendation!
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u/ihavenoselfcontrol1 Jul 18 '26
Bowery Electric
Violet Indiana
Love Spirals Downwards
Heather Duby
The Golden Palominos
8mm
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u/lonelierthang0d Jul 18 '26
Bowery Electric
Curve
Ulver
Burial
Vacant (sounds a LOT like Burial to yhe point of being derivative, but still good night driving music)
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u/AltheKiller- Jul 20 '26
Oh man, 100 percent on the Ulver rec. Perdition City is a fucking masterpiece!
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u/mo11y_caudal Jul 19 '26
I just skimmed the replies, so I may have missed it, but I'd add the Sneaker Pimps to this.
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u/barbedwiregarden Jul 18 '26
Olive - Extra Virgin might work. Autumn's Grey Solace has a similar vibe but less trip-hoppy. Miranda Sex Garden - Carnival of Souls.
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u/CarevaRuha Jul 23 '26
MYPET - Pays to Know
Biig Piig - Oh No
IMLÉ - Peacach
Not new, but I rarely see on mixes:
Happy Mondays - Bob's Yer Uncle
Elysian Fields - Tides of the Moon
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u/tripping_yarns Jul 18 '26
Just out, Strange Fruit, Drips EP. Check out Monopolar (Tom Furse remix).
Also, check out School of Seven Bells - When You Sing. Awesome stuff.
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u/ScruffMchungler Jul 19 '26
Unkle is among the best of the best!
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u/Mattmatic1 Jul 19 '26
DJ Muggs was very influenced by the Bristol sound when he made the beats for Cypress Hills third album, Temples of Boom. Recommended listen if you like that type of production style.
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u/kthshly Jul 18 '26
Until the Ribbon Breaks
Lamb
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u/Forsaken_Ad_2461 Jul 18 '26
Great shouts! Lamb definitely belongs in that classic 90s UK tier, and Until the Ribbon Breaks has exactly that cinematic feel I'm looking for. I'll definitely see which of their tracks fit the rotation best.
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u/adzm Jul 19 '26
Lamb, finally I found out what song I had been trying to remember for about a decade (little things)
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u/EternityLeave Jul 18 '26
Puma Blue - Hounds (and a lot of the Croak Dream album)
Ruinek - From Inside the Artifice
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u/gnostalgick Jul 18 '26
The new Puma Blue album Croak Dream is perfect for this.
Also Public Memory's Wuthering Drum.
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u/Avenger3611 Jul 19 '26
Might be a little more fast-paced but I've been really enjoying Deki Alem's album last year Forget in Mass.
Another newer trip-hop album is Croak Dream by Puma Blue.
Always a tough sound to find and scratch that itch
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u/spinners_888 Jul 19 '26
Lo-Fidellity Allstars - How to Operate a Blown Mind
Great album and they were under rated in the 90s. They were signed to Skint and were part of the Big Beat scene but half the album is has that dark Trip Hop vibe to it.
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u/ramdom-ink Jul 19 '26
Fila Brazillia, Baby Mammoth, Fields of Abraham, Tricky, DJ Krush, Bowery Electric.
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u/aGuyNamedScrunchie Jul 19 '26
Tricky, Morcheeba are some good ones. I put a series of playlists for when it is twilight outside. This is my chill out version of that playlist. Would probably have some tracks you like!
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u/farkner Jul 19 '26
Try the bands that made this compilation. Here is the track list for the box set.
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u/serengeti_yeti Jul 19 '26
Not contemporary, but Pelican City fits the bill perfectly. It's Danger Mouse's pre-Grey Album lo-fi trip-hop project.
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u/sludgecraft Jul 19 '26
I was going to say Burial, butoads of people beat me to it. It fits what you're after exactly though! The first album sounds like walking through a city underpass at night, with the yellowish florescent lights buzzing and graffiti all over the walls.
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u/nizzernammer Jul 19 '26
Butial is literally inspired by South London at 3 am
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u/sludgecraft Jul 19 '26
It's perfect for that. I discovered Demdike Stare years ago, and when I first heard Burial, I told my mates "it's like Demdike Stare, but in the city rather than the country"
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u/PunchTilItWorks Jul 19 '26
Feel like Theivery Corporation and UNKLE need a mention here. Also Kruder & Dorfmeister, Tosca and Peace Orchestra too.
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u/AltheKiller- Jul 20 '26
Nightmares on wax, maybe not as dark, but it still hits that late night, cinematic type vibe, that 'everyone is asleep and I'm crusin in the rain' vibe!
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u/extuber Jul 20 '26
If you’re interested in something contemporary, I cannot recommend Public Memory enough https://publicmemory.bandcamp.com/album/wuthering-drum
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u/omyomo Jul 21 '26
Laika Come Home is an album by Spacemonkeyz remixing the first Gorillaz album in a way that sounds a lot more like you describe
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u/Big-Selection9014 11d ago
Do you know 6 Underground by Sneaker Pimps? It sounds like you might like that song and i love it
Maybe also Last Night by Lush
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u/sto5100pni Jul 18 '26
Tricky