- Following Andy Stott's excellent Luxury Problems from late last year, Modern Love start 2013 in similarly exemplary form with the debut EP from Rainer Veil. The pair of Liam Morley and Dan Valentine are, like Modern Love, based in Manchester. The Struck EP incorporates recordings from the last 12 months, seemingly while it was bitterly cold and pissing down with rain outside. But as outwardly dank as these tracks may be, there's reassuring warmth that radiates from their core. What at first might appear monochromatic eventually reveals layers of subdued colour and texture.
There's also a very real sense of space, with echoing creaks and thuds appearing genuinely distant rather than simply softer or quieter. "Bala" slowly develops from a gently undulating static hum into its beautifully fragile, cinematic final third. This may be introspective electronica but there's nothing in the least disquieting about the release. The tones are muted and crushed, but there is clear, bright light at the end of the tunnel. The vocals play some part in this, not least on "Wade In"—certainly the most cheerful track—but for the most part it's the production's depth and intricacy that breathes life into this considered and emotive debut.
Tracklist A1 Struck
A2 Slow Beaming
A3 Bala
B1 Wade In
B2 Yield