Groundislava - TV Dream

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  • Last we heard from LA's Jasper Patterson, he was crafting precious 8-bit video game lullabies for Friends of Friends on his eponymous album. It would appear he's grown from the nerdy teenager cooped up in his room to discovering the party scene. At least judging from "Weekend In The Tropics," anyway, which kicks off the TV Dream EP with a healthy dose of sunshine. Vitamin D practically radiates from the track, which centers around a decidedly Balearic chord progression, underlined with Groundislava's typically wistful synth lines underneath. It's a tantalizingly brief little nugget that ends as soon as it starts, but hints that Patterson's music has a whole lot more dance potential than he let on the first time around. Remember "chillwave?" It's like that, only a whole lot better. The rest of the EP isn't quite the Ibiza vacation that "Weekend" promises, but "TV Dream" continues the trend of blazing new paths through his established sound. Featuring the permanently blurry voice of Clive Tanaka, the twinkling starscape is interrupted by steamrolling drums that blast through from the periphery, as if Patterson suddenly decided to turn it into a house track halfway through. The EP's back end lacks the populist bent of the first half, focusing more on the contemplative side of Groundislava. The winner is "Tower Jump Suicide," which connects the dots between a lazily arcing arpeggio and the same silvery streams of synth that overtake "TV Dream." Meanwhile "Salt of Love" is low-resolution boogie, two-dimensional melodies inflated with bumpy basslines, and "Reflecting" taps into his well-used vein of nostalgia, throwing some choppy hip-hop drums underneath for good measure. It's not quite the reinvention that "Weekend" hints at, but it's certainly a step forward.
  • Tracklist
      01. Weekend In The Tropics 02. TV Dream feat. Clive Tanaka 03. Tower Jump Suicide 04. Salt Of Love 05. Reflecting
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