- After debuting this summer with a warm two-tracker for Apron Records, Bristol's L.M.Y.E. (short for Lend Me Your Ears) return with a single on Idle Hands, the local shop where the two producers are said to have met. "Manhattan" continues with the duo's sample-centric house style, maintaining the casual, back-to-basics feel that made both "Cali 76" and "Pays To Be Pushed" such breezy groovers. But there's more tension and scope to this one's swelling string sample. The upward slant to "Manhattan" makes the thing feel like an infinite climb over starry skylines. Adding little more than a massive sub-bass, a jazzy piano refrain and two sparsely distributed synth notes, L.M.Y.E. have turned their heavily filtered loop into a time-release house bomb.
The B-side belongs to the remix by Shanti Celeste, who keeps the original's simplicity even as she works in a busy, elastic bassline. She applies the string samples more sparingly, and while the open space suits her atmospheric touches, it also diminishes the track's momentum. There's a sense that Celeste didn't try to one-up "Manhattan," opting instead for a bubbly but low-key treatment. It's not the strongest tune with her name on it, but it's a fitting counterpart to a single that has charisma to spare.
TracklistA Manhattan
B Manhattan (Shanti Celeste Remix)