- These Moments Dismantled heralded a gripping return for Tommy Four Seven and Alain Paul's collaboration as These Hidden Hands. On that record, the pair's sound design was as tight as ever, but it was Lucrecia Dalt's involvement that proved to be vital. Her muted vocals added a contrast that had previously been lacking: a pale, ethereal yin to THH's dense and merciless yang. Now, SZ31X71 arrives as a prelude to their second album, Vicarious Memories. The single is once again gnarled and oppressive, and it keeps the duo's newfound dynamics in tact.
"SZ31X71" careens in on a squall of high-pitched keys as a thick, doomy atmosphere gathers below. Playing out like a storm, the tension mounts and deepens, sheets of quivering string notes cascading from the clouds. These delicate flecks act like footholds as we climb towards the summit, where we find a rapturous splitting of the skies. As daunting and moving as his last album, Roly Porter's remix is both rhythmically and dynamically extreme. Full of razor-sharp FX and incessant, punishing bass, the track creeps exquisitely along the border of pain and pleasure.
Tracklist01. SZ31X71
02. SZ31X71 (Roly Porter Remix)