- When your first record is as breathtakingly beautiful as DC Salas' "Peru," chances are you're going to heap a whole load of expectation on your own shoulders. How you handle that weight of expectation is borne out through the rest of your career, as—however long said career turns out to be—people will always quite naturally tend to judge against their initial experience of you. And while his latest EP isn't as spine-tingling as his debut, it certainly suggests that there's plenty more where that particular gem came from.
The entire EP occupies a particular space; muted tones and heavily filtered washes create a happily downbeat atmosphere that never quite breaks free of the shackles of solemnity. Not that it's trying to. The title track does little more than introduce a few weary "oooh"'s and a couple of lazy claps to the proceedings, and yet dull it most certainly is not. "Harmony" adopts a more upbeat Chicago vibe while "Rutabaga"—by far the most clearly dance floor-focused track on the EP—hits almost tech house territory with rhythmic vocal stabs and a fiercely energetic collection of hats.
What stands out most about Salas is the sheer depth of production on what seem to be quite simple tracks. If that seems like a contradiction, you're probably right. More than most, however, Salas seems able to pull you deep into his work, even if they're not to your particular taste, something that makes me excited to hear what he's going to do next.
Tracklist A EVOL
B1 Harmony
B2 Rutabaga