- Jacques Greene's first EP since summer 2012's Ready, finds the Montreal producer in evolution mode. Where Ready and his previous releases generally revolved around floor-friendly beats and his trademark processed vocal samples, "On Your Side" and "Faithful" are what you might call "proper songs." The former in particular—a big shiny electronic R&B tune with a lush guest vocal from Tom Krell of How To Dress Well—is a quantum leap in songwriting for Greene. Kicking off with an echoing, Burial-like sample of Krell's falsetto vocal, a warm beat and chiming synth soon usher the full vocal in, framed beautifully by Greene's advancing and retreating percussion.
"Faithful" is essentially a diet version of "On Your Side," but it's still enjoyable. With vocals this time provided by Greene's friend Olivier Daysoul, it treads a very similar soaring vocal/percussion path without quite packing the same punch as the title track. "Quicksand" sees Greene back on home turf. A luminescent instrumental, it became a SoundCloud hit after a first airing on his BBC6 takeover in October, and fully merits the full release it gets here.
Tracklist A1 On Your Side Ft. How To Dress Well
B1 Faithful
B Quicksand