- An emerging artist drops his best release yet.
- A few months ago, Significant Other put out his second EP, a release for Well Street Records that showed plenty of promise but whose minimalist, discordant style sometimes felt a touch cold or distant. The encouraging thing, however, was that it seemed the New York-based artist was attempting to develop a sound to call his own. Club Aura, this new EP for the UK label Oscilla Sound, shows even more clearly where he's headed. The broken, percussive, sort-of-dance-floor style of the last record returns, but its execution is consistently on-point.
It's a subtle move, but placing the least club-oriented track first and the most club-orientated track last appears evident of an artist interested in upending convention. The same could be said of including a saxophone on the excellent opener, "Club Aura." This isn't quite as outlandish as that sounds, the part smoothly smudged into a soundscape replete with dub and jazz colours, but it's still a brave inclusion. Down the other end of the intensity scale, "Drum Therapy" closes with a sort of drum & bass/hardcore/bass music hybrid that stands out in what's a crowded market these days. We're no less than three minutes before the EP's end when Significant Other reveals its most immediately striking element: a big, trembling bassline worthy of club love.
"Mike's Gone Back To Manchester" and "Little Blue Pills" are mid-tempo inclusions in line with the best of Postdrome, his last release. The bass pulses on "Mike's Gone Back To Manchester" offer an energy at odds with the staggered beat, while "Little Blue Pills" is all about the gradually tightening grip of the drums. Dancers may not even realise what's happening before they're locked into its abnormal groove.
TracklistA1 Club Aura
A2 Mike's Gone Back To Manchester
B1 Little Blue Pills
B2 Drum Therapy