- A dance music return to form that spans house, techno, garage and downtempo, all held together by a keen melodic sense.
- For a hot minute in the mid-'10s, no one could turn out a bassline funkier—or melodies sweeter—than Patrick Holland. Starting with 2015's I Want to Believe and running through a string of releases on Ninja Tune sub-label Technicolour, the Montreal-based producer made some of the best Canadian house records since, well, ever (full disclosure: "Closer" was played three times at my wedding). What he did so well was take his hometown Vancouver's emotional sound and fused it with a broader cross-current of electronic music, from electro to dub techno, all produced with the craftsmanship of a skilled musician.
In the intervening years, Holland has been a bit more exploratory. He released an (underrated) album of guitar-driven indie—somewhere between Mac DeMarco-core and a slightly more refined adult contemporary—and toured with Montreal band TOPS. He's kept a steady churn of Bandcamp releases flowing that are similarly expansive, though his latest album, Infra, arrives as a true return to form. It's not like Holland ever left the club (he and Priori put out an absolutely slamming tech house record under their Jump Source alias last year), but Infra feels like a career-spanning retrospective that plays to his strengths.
The melodies are exceptionally moreish. Holland has always had an ear for a catchy hook, whether it's the tinny strings that peek out from the hazy pads on "Recycled" or the synth that sounds like the cry of an orca on "Hitherto." The other highlight is the drum programming. Unlike the half-lidded sleepiness so central to the old Vancouver sound, the percussion here is as tight as new Tupperware. From the techno snare pattern on "Photon" with Unknown Mobile to the almost Italo "High Noon" to the dub techno "Daytime Disturbance," there isn't a single drum hit that doesn't pop.
There's also a distinct streak of UK garage on Infra. Holland, who came up as a bass aficionado under his short-lived 8prn alias, has always kept plenty of garage in his bag—here he really goes for it. "S Mobile" starts out as an emotional tech house tune before a piano breakdown and vinyl spinback launch it careening with a syncopated skip. Have you ever wondered what sort of music Mount Kimble would make if they'd been an exchange student at The University of British Columbia and had to ride the 99 through the fog? My closest guess is something like the melancholy pads and distorted voices of "It's In the Wrapping" and "Walking On Ice."
Holland sneaks in a few hazy ambient tunes amid these club workouts—check the fuzzy and brooding "Blurry Trench" or the organ jam session "Sitting in a Chair." But, really, this record is a celebration of the dance floor. Infra is a reminder that there aren't many people who make dance music as fun, funky and filled with feeling as Holland. It's good to have him back in this mode.
Tracklist01. Third Rail
02. Boot feat. CFCF
03. Fried
04. Hitherto
05. It's In The Wrapping
06. Walking On Ice
07. S Mobile
08. Blurry Trench
09. Chop
10. Recycled
11. Photon feat. Unknown Mobile
12. High Noon
13. Daytime Disturbance
14. Sitting On A Chair
15. Blue
16. Off The Oil