Sisterhood – Tunnels

  • Share
  • Sisterhood's return to London imprint Tief Music—a label they smashed the champagne on with inaugural release Call Me Ishmael—is an equally moody affair. The duo's production chops belie a scant discography. But Harry Benson and John Malcolm Moore have been floating through various collaborative and solo projects for long enough to know how to programme a dreamy synth line. Here, that studio nous is deployed to hypnotic effect. Though there's a range on offer here—everything from dubbed-out techno to North Lake-like noodling to early-hours house—everything's permeated by the same somnolent atmosphere. It's there in the elegiac pads that sweep through "Believe," infusing Efdemin-style percussion with a sense of narcotic detachment. Equally, it's in "Tunnels"'s wandering synths, which putter about fairly aimlessly to create something that's more texture than tune, with only the kick's incessant pulse keeping things moving forward. The EP's clubbier offerings rely on a more strident play-off between percussion and subs. A-side "Doublespeak" milks its breakdowns a touch too much—lightly filtered arpeggios aren't the makings of a hands-in-the-air moment—but when the duo push through in a thrusting kick-and-hit combo it all gets much more taught. Bicep's remix of "Tunnels" jettisons the wandering bass in favour of a bouncing riff that, in less restrained hands, could verge on Depeche Mode territory, especially when the bells come in. But they smear everything in just enough reverb to dull the edges, fashioning instead a woozy, 4 AM sub-rattler.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Doublespeak A2 Tunnels B1 Tunnels (Bicep Remix) B2 Believe
RA