DEATHDAY
‘DROPPED INTO OBSCURITY’
(from SO CLICK HEELS, DOWNWARDS)
It’s 2012, but someone forgot to tell Deathday: their angst-ridden goth-punk prowler ‘Dropped Into Obscurity’, which opens Downwards’ marvellous new So Click Heels compilation, is determined to carry on scowling as if 1979-83 never ended, unsure whether to be more pained about its mardy girlfriend or imminent nuclear armageddon.
THE XX
‘ANGELS’
(XL)
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The London trio return, unfazed, with the first single to be taken from Coexist. From the sounds of it, they haven’t sought to overhaul their sound for album #2; haunting minimalism remains the order of the day, though Romy Madley-Croft’s voice has certainly become a stronger, more expressive instrument in the interim.
H-FUSION FEAT. MARCELLUS PITTMAN
‘WICKED BITCH WITCH’
(FIT)
A hot blast of intense, keyboard-heavy and Theo-influenced Detroit house from Howard Thomas in collaboration with Marcellus Pittman, with a groove as compulsive as it is confounding. Chicago’s still got it, it would seem.
TNGHT
‘HIGHER GROUND’
(from TNGHT EP, LUCKYME)
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Grace, finesse, invention, subtlety – ‘Higher Ground’ wants nothing to do with any of them. More so than the somewhat stolid ‘Bugg’n’, ‘Higher Ground’ nimbly negotiates the balance between dorky and triumphant. HudMo and Lunice pair have talked about wanting to create ‘bangers’, and the track hits the boss bang on: chattering hats, coiled snare rolls, and a hook that sounds like a drawbridge being lowered are all deployed to hammer the point. Dumb, for sure, but you can’t argue with an idiot savant.
AZEALIA BANKS FEAT. STYLES P
‘NATHAN’
(XL)
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Since ‘212’, Azealia Banks has continued to play the coquette. Just when she earns one’s affection, she goes off on another ill-advised jag; just when she’s in danger of becoming intolerable, she does something undeniable. The Fantasea mixtape was weighed down by dullard re-voxes and fairly anonymous rhymes, but ‘Nathan’ rides to the rescue. Drums Of Death’s instrumental, a triumph of foundry phonics and Theremin wobbles, does the business. Styles P, meanwhile, livens things up no end; with a sparring partner to bounce off, Banks’ saucy cant takes on a new lease of life.
ASTER
‘DANZA’
(HIVERN DISC)
Aster’s recent 12″ of crystalline house music for Hivern Discs has got us feeling all twinkle-eyed, and ‘Danza’ in particular is a triumph of ambiguity: the hook’s jolly as anything, but there’s nothing comforting in those shlocky synth washes and John Carpenter atmospherics. As befits an alumnus of Jamal Moss’ Mathematics label, Aster keeps things delightfully lo-fi. Cottage industry house for long cold nights.
DUSK + BLACKDOWN
‘EX-SWING’
(KEYSOUND)
Twisty, tricksy, off-the-grid percussion experiment from the Keysound camp which proves that garage is a feeling, not a formula.
MONTY LUKE
‘IN LOVE WITH A DANCER’ (ML TRONIK EDIT)
(from BOMB ON BOMB EP, FULL FLAVOR MUSIC)
OK, so we’re a little late on this: it actually came out a few months ago. But with his recent releases, Monty Luke – label manager at Carl Craig’s Planet E – really has been smacking it out the park, and Bomb on Bomb is no different. The title track will veer a little too close to big room house for some with its sunset sing-song, but opener ‘In Love with a Dancer’ is just perfect.
AE
AE’S DUB EDITORIAL VOLUME ONE
(AE)
Marshall Jefferson, Lutricia McNeal and more edited down to the bare bones groove by Chicago’s Andrew Emil. Essential – just listen to ’em.
MICACHU & THE SHAPES
‘OK’
(from NEVER, ROUGH TRADE)
For new album When, Micachu hasn’t really tampered with the formula of its predecessor, Jewellery, and really there’s no need: it still sounds fresh, and it the world’s still catching up. ‘OK’ is a real stand-out, combining DIY noisemongery and punk-pop nous with a relaxed, charming authority.
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