- On February's Vaporub EP, Alex Smoke mechanized his melancholy motifs with up-tempo, abrasive beats to impressively dynamic results. F in F sounds very much like a continuation of that release, boasting the same clackety high-tempo beats, ghostly vocal samples and gloomy ambience. In fact, aside from the feisty "Whirfless," F in F is a bit too consistent with its predecessor, and lacks the finishing touches that make Vaporub so rich. Nonetheless, Alex Smoke is a gifted artist who lends a moody charisma to all his productions, and these three tracks are no exception.
On the A-side, "Whirrfless" is an odd-duck party rocker. Its unpolished, metallic textures set the norm for the EP, but jumpy analogue keys and a whirring factory whistle make this one a funky misfit. For such a starkly produced techno track, it screams "party time" with surprising lightheartedness. And it's perfectly easy to slip into a techno set, as some stern arpeggios ride through the final minute, paving the way for the stone-faced tracks favored by many of his contemporaries.
"Fud" is much less daring. The same perky beat skips along, surrounded by abrupt crashes and a plodding bassline. It's got some vivid samples and an overall intriguing vibe, but somehow feels hollow and unfinished, lacking the clever details that make "Blackbody" or "Clapface" (off of Vaporub EP) so evocative. "Flinkclunk," is even more stripped down. It lacks a catchy bassline and generally feels more like a DJ tool than anything else. Nonetheless, it's an elegant composition of sharply hissing valves, fragmented crashes and a dreary, reverb laden atmosphere. It's probably the best track on the EP, and definitely a great one to mix with, but still not as memorable as much of Smoke's recent work. As a bundle of atypically colorful techno tracks, this EP doesn't disappoint, and will receive its share of DJ attention. But considering its precursor on Hum + Haw, it's not hard to suspect that Alex Smoke now saves the best cuts for his own label.
TracklistA Whirrfless
B1 Fud
B2 Flingclunk