Deadboy - Blaquewerk

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  • Deadboy put his name on the map with the type of candy-sweet uptempo house that would soon sweep the UK. The Londoner has since been tip-toeing away from that formula, and his first release in almost two years is his farthest afield yet. What's most striking about opener "On Your Mind" is its lack of foundation, as if the kick drum you'd expect was removed at the last minute. It's skittish and fussy, driven by stuttering snares and interrupted by blasts of Thriller-esque synth. "Geek'd Up" isn't any more substantial. This time, slamming synth stabs provide the contrast for the seedy backdrop. While both tracks are almost torpid, they're more about anticipation than "banging" in any traditional sense. "Black Reign" gives us a gliding house beat. It's effortlessly lightweight, as if held aloft by thermal updrafts, but there's something anxious about the melody. (We're certainly not dealing with the pop-friendly confectionery of "Heartbreaker" here.) Burrowing even deeper, "Nova" takes the slippery excitement of jungle breaks and plunges them in minor key melancholia. The track, like Blaquewerk in general, has the same pop sensibility, rhythmic dexterity and emotional wallop of Deadboy's previous work. It's just dressed up in different clothes now.
  • Tracklist
      A1 On Your Mind A2 Geek'd Up B1 Black Reign B2 Nova
RA