- Weirdo pop with remarkable songwriting and production standards.
- On each release, Reckonwrong has ventured further from the dance floor. Originally building a reputation for a skewed mix of celestial synths, claustrophobic ambience and Hessle-informed drum machine workouts, he's moved his focus from outsider house to outsider pop. First, there was "The Passions Of Pez," a blend of polyrhythms and '80s influences topped by his warbling baritone. Now there's Whities 018, an EP centered on sad piano songs made as he "decompressed from an episode of deep prang."
"14 Days" is a skeletal post-breakup lament where Reckonwrong sounds like an inebriated John Cale singing, "What I wouldn't give for 14 more days of happiness." On "Half A Pill," he pulls himself out of bed and wanders down to the club, takes a pill and bounces along to a major-chord Schaffel pop track. On "I'm A Spoon," he crafts a convincing hymn with desolate lines like "I live on the edge of nothingness" while church bells ring in the distance. He gets his groove back on "Paris Is Melting," stepping along to a skanking reggae-lite rhythm.
Though Reckonwrong suggests these tunes were written during a bout of heartache and fatigue, Whities 018 is an enjoyable listen, thanks to his remarkable songwriting and production. Choruses like "Paris Is Melting"'s "Is that the best you can do / Is that the best a man can be," lodge in your head, while subtle production touches, like synthesized burbling water as he sings "I'm a fish, making my way back upstream" on "I'm A Spoon," reveal his mind for details. Whities 018 feels like a forgotten, forlorn post-punk gem, with some modern production flourishes.
TracklistA1 Paris Is Melting
A2 14 Days
B1 Half A Pill
B2 I'm A Spoon