- Mark O'Sullivan and label head honcho John Dahlback team up here for their second (and Pickadoll's fifth) official release, although Mark did have some input on the earlier Pickadoll Zoovoices EP. Whilst John perhaps needs no introduction, playing internationally as he does, Mark is also known for his work with others as DK7, and The Mighty Quark. Ultimately what we're looking at here is electronic house music, so let's do just that.
The title track "Jagging" is all about a heavy insistent synth riff which gradually distorts into twisted notes as the track progresses. At first metallic percussion, then a higher synth line and finally echoed vocal snippets come in to match this sickness, and really that's where I'd expect to hear something like this - on a really messed-up, dark, twisted floor.
Heavier beats and atmospheric pads put "Dolled Up" into a deeper box, with Star Wars laser-like stabs and a crunchy beefy bass adding interest and drive respectively. Probably more appealing to the progressive jocks out there than the other tracks, this is somewhat eerie but grooving tech house for building on.
The opening techy bass loop on "Shift", complete with little pauses and gently-textured percussion, set the scene for leftfield sounding pads (ie. unconventional sounding, not the UK duo!) to space things out. Pushing hats and a quirky riff then enter stage right, completing this kinda-deep, kinda-makes-you-wanna-move little number. Maybe a good one for DJs dealing with a bunch of zombies...or at least people who enjoy being zombies...and that may not be a bad thing for some...in other words, it has potential for those trippy "where-am-I-oh-I-don't-care" heads down moments.
All up, for the deeper and more grooving 2 cuts here, I'd say this release is looking at a...6 out of 10.