- Chemtrails is an apt title for Aphix's second Infinite Machine EP, a record with chemical color and a spacial depth that feels like heavy gas. Opener "50 / Thrifty" is an unlikely combination of elements: the sparse, broken rhythms of golden-era dubstep and the luminescent glow of current club experiments. Adding in dub techno stabs and bit-crushed drums, the track feels eclectic but not scatterbrained. Few of its motifs or phrases repeat after they make an appearance, instead peeling off like petals to reveal new layers underneath. Though the track teeters on the edge of confusion, its rejection of standard A/B arrangements is part of the charm.
"Wester To Gold" is less exciting. Here, Aphix applies reverb and delay in large dollops, making it hard to discern the track's contours. Where "50 / Thrifty" made a freewheeling arrangement work, this one could have taken more decisive turns between separate sections. The title track is the record's most club-ready cut, with lethal drums doing the hard labor. You'd be forgiven for thinking it sounds like a peak-time Ramadanman tune, though the queasy green synths help it stake out a unique aesthetic. It's not as slamming as Aphix's rambunctious Infinite Machine debut from last year, but is no less a nice show of subtlety.
Tracklist01. 50 / Thrifty
02. Wester To Gold
03. Chemtrails