Joy Orbison & Boddika - Froth / Mercy

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  • As odd on paper as the collaboration might seem—one makes jittery electro, the other makes fairly conservative house these days—the formidable pairing of Joy O & Boddika has already produced one anthem, the acid jacker "Swims." It wasn't a one-off, and the two analogue denizens have been collaborating regularly and even started their own vinyl-only imprint to distribute the tracks. "Mercy" has been one of the most played-out tracks that's surfaced from the collaboration aside from "Swims," but for such a popular track it's a confusing, structurally ambitious little thing: it starts off with a lumpen kick and distracting offbeat snares, coloured by distorted speech and odd sound effects. Two minutes in, a wooden chord emerges, collaged and repeated to nauseating extremes. This is gloriously messy stuff, and flipside "Froth" only ratchets up the freeform feel. Its slurred, slippery chords are like the melting point between Boddika's frantic rigidity and Joy O's loping Chicago-isms, building pressure with insistent snares before releasing them with a rather distinctive vocal gasp. Build-and-release, build-and-release, it's a predictable track made with unpredictable parts, and the result is a banger that never sounds quite right and absolutely revels in its own deformity.
  • Tracklist
      A Froth B Mercy
RA