- Rude club tracks that blend electro, techno and house.
- "When are we going to call this genre something else?" pleaded a Discogs user on the release page for Martyné & Jacob's Deathstar EP. "Please can we just call this Traffic House or something?" It's a bad idea, but this speaks to just how distinctive the Frankfurt label's output has been these past few years. Its latest record comes from Etienne, a French artist who shares some of Traffic's appetite for subtle genre flips. The Combat EP presents four rock-solid cuts at the intersection of house, techno and electro that are sometimes let down by the arrangements.
There's plenty of bump and sleaze on the record's first three tracks. Each features slamming kicks and snares, rattling hi-hats and lead sounds packed with attitude. These are hard-hitting grooves. But around the mid-section they each feel a little disharmonious, the discrete elements never quite cohering as a satisfying whole. "New Dawn," the closer, strikes a better balance. The drums are similarly punchy but they're paired with a fluttering pad and a melodic lead, creating an affecting moment of reflection on an otherwise rude EP.
TracklistA1 Rez
A2 Disto
B1 Le Spnk
B2 New Dawn