Lawrence - Jill EP

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  • Lawrence has made a career out of the minor key, his epic end-of-the-night deep house for depressed clubbers is now a cottage industry. His formula for the title track here is much the same as it has seemingly always been: "Jill" is a slow-moving tune that languidly lays out a soft beat perfect for the starry-eyed, tinkled synths that interweave with one another. It's yet another fully-formed song ripe for the warm-up. Kersten knows his audience, which is why it's followed immediately on the A-side by a reprise of the same, taking the kick out and showcasing how well his melodies hold up without a steady thump behind them. It's reminiscent of Kaito's beatless album for Kompakt and the effect is the same: Light, airy and perfect DJ tool fodder. Things pick up as much as they can on a Lawrence EP on the B-side with "Hamtramck," which plys a similar tone as "Jill" with a tiny bit more urgency behind the beat. Ultimately, though, the track falls into the trap that much of his output has recently: It's easy listening house, with melodies too simplistic to give it a specialness that extends it beyond its modest aims. Far more successful is the bell-laden ambient work "Sunrise" which again takes Kaito's sound and runs with it. If Mule and Lawrence aren't plotting a release of more ambient-driven material they ought to: Painting Lawrence's sound in a new light, it offers up proof that there's life in his sound yet.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Jill A2 Jill (reprise) B1 Hamtramck B2 Sunrise
RA