- Just like last month's Part 6, there's an inverse relationship between the prosaic title of Matthew Herbert's new EP and the high levels of inventiveness on display. The most immediate of the quartet, "Bumps," shows the value of repetition. Once again featuring the sugary voice of Hejira vocalist Rahel, it embarks on a seemingly endless lap of simplistic keys, taut, woody percussion and fluttering, low-register bass.
The clockwork techno of "Sucker" is closer in feel to the stark, angular sounds of the One trilogy that Herbert released at the turn of the decade, while "Pretty Daddy" is almost as uncompromising. It grabs a sliver of accordion and loops it into a throbbing siren, accompanied by a chipmunk-ish voice and jarring rhythm that steadily raise the clamor. But it's "Get Strong" that's worth the entrance fee on its own. A techno march built from tribal rhythms, pizzicato strings and arrhythmic thuds, it pulls off that typically Herbert trick of meshing disparate, near-discordant elements into a cohesive, addictive dance floor entity.
TracklistA1 Bumps
A2 Sucker
B1 Get Strong
B2 Pretty Daddy