- The sudden end of Darkside seemed drastic when the news broke, but maybe it was a necessary catalyst. Since Nicolas Jaar abandoned his spacey rock band, he's put out some of the best music of his career—all in a flurry of activity that makes me think of when he was a precocious teenager with something to prove. In addition to his sometimes-brilliant, sometimes-befuddling soundtrack for The Color Of Pomegranates, he's been working through a stellar series called Nymphs. The fourth installment, this time on R&S, presents the same set of sounds in a tighter, techno-influenced framework.
Like the other Nymphs tracks, "Fight" is long. It's nine minutes and takes its time going anywhere. This one skates on slippery chords, whose oily sheen points back towards early Hessle Audio. Swooping in and out of more ambient passages, "Fight" feels like it's always teasing us, holding something back until the breakdown—buoyed by Jaar's half-mumbled vocals, as usual—when it slams into a surprisingly aggressive second phase. But even this is tempered by the producer's distinct aloofness. It makes "Fight" feel like techno sent through a labyrinth of sharp turns. He's on a real tear right now, and the excited rush of "Fight" accentuates that feeling, but it's also considered and eccentric. Jaar's exploratory nature can get the best of him, but here it's tuned just right.
TracklistA1 Fight (Nymphs IV)