Overmono - Arla

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  • It can go either way with siblings: either they grow apart as they get older or they find new ways of getting along. Tom and Ed Russell—Tessela and Truss—might belong to the latter camp. Short of a single track and a bit of touring as TR // ER, their musical worlds used to be fairly separate. But last year they relaunched Tessela's Poly Kicks label as a joint venture, and now they've signed to XL as a duo, Overmono. The Arla EP highlights that, at least stylistically, they're closer together than ever, Truss having stepped back from the aggy acid of his MPIA3 days and Tessela having migrated to techno. This EP touches on shared influences—rave, '90s techno—and has a widescreen flair befitting of XL. The rowdier tracks come first. Brief intro "Olchon Flows" offers a tantalising taster of diva samples and grumbling Reese bass. "Lockner Union" follows with its menacing 4/4 chug, over which melodies skip like pebbles across roiling surf. You sort of expect it to get massive halfway through, but the brothers keep the breakdown pretty demure. That same feeling—is it disappointment, or just surprise that they didn't take the easy route?—is induced by the remaining tracks. "C-Life" is an SND-style stutter-scape that ends way too soon; "Winged," with its boomy beat and dreamy chords, could be a nostalgic banger off one of the Shed LPs; again it seems to hold back. On the drumless closer, "Programmer," shimmering synth loops build to a euphoric peak. Like much of the EP, it's an arresting idea that could've been milked a bit more firmly.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Olchon Flows A2 Lockner Union A3 C-Life B1 Winged B2 Programmer
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