- Overmono dial-back the post-dubstep mania for an EP of darker, more introspective experiments.
- Those looking for another "So U Kno" or "Diamond Cut" might be surprised to put on Overmono's newest EP and hear what sounds like an old Ed Rush & Optical track. The precise percussive choppage of "Cash Romantic" is halfway between techstep and drumfunk, with dubbed-out vocal snippets and a hint of studio chatter replacing the usual sing-songy samples. It's tight-lipped and functional, not too macho but also not as flighty as the group's recent work. Cash Romantic finds the brothers Russell less interested in making mega-hits and exploring other sounds closer to home (or at least their lives growing up on UK electronic music), an approach that feels alternately humble and ambitious.
There are still colossal basslines and bouncy drum patterns on Cash Romantic, but the scale is pared-back. "Bone Mics," with its rumbling low-end and UK garage swing, hints at past glories, though the muttering vocals and minor-key melody pull it inward. It's more introspective than anthemic. The same goes for "Gunk," whose hypnotic vocal and constantly ascending melody never quite hit payoff. Even the breakdown just takes the song back to square one, a far cry from from the electrifying second drops we've heard on past singles.
The EP's most intriguing cuts are its outliers. The lovely "Phosycon" reminds me of early Black Dog, with its warmed-over synth melodies, strangely springy drums and bitcrushed vocal. It's like a warm IDM hug. Then there's "Gfortune," an unlikely centrepiece that sounds like a hip-hop track melting in the sun, its overdriven chords distorting and decaying while the mush-mouthed R&B sample sulks around. This is Cash Romantic's closest thing to a big hook.
That the catchiest track here is a beatless deconstructed trap exercise tells you everything you need to know about the duo's latest record, which is caught in between feelings and moods. Almost all the punches are pulled, and the music just kind of floats pleasantly. It's as if the duo have turned the time machine back from 2011 to 1995 and put out an EP on Warp Records. That's not necessarily a bad thing—it's just different, more subtle. Ed and Tom Russell have always used Overmono to explore whatever wrinkle of dance music tickled their fancy at any given time. Their latest is another immaculately produced love letter to UK dance music, just in a different era.
Tracklist01. Cash Romantic
02. Gunk
03. Gfortune
04. Bone Mics
05. Phosycon