Finn - Dance Music Has Betrayed Us All

  • High-energy house with plenty of hooks.
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  • Finn McCorry knows his way around a hook. At the end of last year, he released "Sometimes The Going Gets A Little Tough," an upbeat house track hinged on a bittersweet vocal. The tune became a hit, rereleased by Defected and picked up by mainstream DJs. McCorry returns to Local Action with Dance Music Has Betrayed Us All, a shorter EP that focuses on his two strengths: milking a sample for all it's worth and making happy music feel curiously sad, a paradox that any clubber with a hangover will recognize. Though the results vary, the EP has some rapturous moments that almost match up to "Sometimes The Going Gets A Little Tough." "Carpet Floors" employs a wacky piano sample, with a rough-and-tumble loop that sounds like it's tripping over the kick drum. "Do Good Boys Get The Fear?" sounds like a remix of The Price Is Right theme, with a wistful melody that never resolves the way you expect it to, capturing the bittersweet mood that made "Sometimes The Going Gets A Little Tough" shine. The title track riffs on old rave and hardcore. A barrage of chipmunk vocals, stuttering drums, rollicking piano runs and hoover-like synths, it reaches top speed too early. Lacking the dynamism of the music it's taking cues from, "Dance Music Has Betrayed Us All" feels limp, showing the limits of McCorry's instant-sugar-rush style. But McCorry's insistent approach works wonders on "Opening Up," where an unlikely sample—a strummed guitar—alongside the giddy kick drum and slowed-down choruses. That contrast makes McCorry's music feel transcendent, its happy-sad combo mirroring the life of a raver, where one great night can lead to a world of pain—but be worth it.
  • Tracklist
      01. Dance Music Has Betrayed Us All 02. Do Good Boys Get the Fear? 03. Opening Up 04. Carpet Floors
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