- The glorious tech house revival continues on an EP as silly as it is emotional.
- There are a number of key tropes that define what I've called elsewhere the "great tech house revival"—quirky vocal snippets, neon synths, swung drums, basslines made of flubber. Liam Dadds fits this bill snugly, though in an increasingly crowded field he brings a little extra swagger, that je ne sais quoi that separates the true believers from the tryhards. On releases for labels like Butter Side Up, Welt Discos and Nuances De Nuit, his melodies are a bit more candy-colored, his drums more swung, his basslines springier than the rest. He continues this streak on his latest EP for Truly Madly's Mindhelmet label with six tracks of bespoke tech house adorned with touches of Midwest techno and UK garage.
There's a fine line between groovy and gimmicky when working with the type of technicolor synths Dadds does. But across the record he keeps himself on the right side of cheesy, with a tinge of melancholy he smuggles in there. It's in the rave afterglow chords that flicker in "The Waltzer," the dubby filter on "Wave Wizard" and the cautious arpeggio on "Body Flat Position." He goes all-in on the emo feels with "Play A Good Tune And I'll Dance" (a track I've been hunting for since this all-originals mix last year), laying down second-wave Detroit chords and a galactic lead that sounds like an alien windwood ballad. He takes the pathos in the other direction on "Khaosan Rodeo (Terrific)" when he channels the late, great Nathan Coles' Get Fucked alias. The repeated "Isn't it terrific?" refrain sounds slightly desperate, like the last person at the afters trying to get you to stay for just a little bit more of whatever dodgy stuff they've got left.
It's getting dangerously close to the point where a lot of these new tech house sounds are beginning to border on the cliche. And this begs the question: where can the producers spearheading this revival go next? Dadds provides his own answer on MINDHELMET 10. For every silly synth line he can churn out, he's also able to conjure up some serious emotion, perfecting a balance of funkiness and feels.
Tracklist01. The Waltzer
02. Play A Good Tune And I'll Dance
03. Khaosan Rodeo (Terrific)
04. Many Sounds
05. Wave Wizard
06. Body Flat Position