::NEAT – It Is U::
Early feedback in from Bambounou, Felix Da Housecat, Agoria, Rampa, Jennifer Touch, Phenomenal Handclap Band…
Stockholm’s NEAT are back in the Exploited house with a generous four-track EP of electronic delights, once again demonstrating their sophisticated, atmospheric styles.
EP title track ‘It Is U’ echoes the deepest of classic progressive house with its plaintive feel, building through bobbing arpeggios and crystalline chimes while a chugging Italo disco-esque groove pushes it forward. Big sweeps and minor chords punctuate in the background while the percussion keeps evolving.
‘Nouvell De Romantica’ features spacey vocals from Miss Trance Late and is a gently tripped-out workout that revolves around rubbery bass delays, ticking hi-hats and distorted acid bubbles. Far-off pads filter subtly beneath huge swathes of reverb, panning across the stereo field as the Latinx vocal samples gently massage your mind. Let’s call it ‘lazy acid’.
Speaking of which, ‘Acid Arouse’ picks up the next with skippy beats and a stomping bass groove whose acidic characteristics are gradually intensified. Sprightly synth delays and sweeps fill out the surrounding space, while breathy vocals from Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Antilla add another dreamy touch. Rippling, dreamy synth plucks top this tasty acid cake off.
‘WAAAAW!’ makes for a brooding finale, with a more techno-led focus. Discordant arpeggios meld with glassy pulses and weird vocal effects to create a psychedelic soundscape whose parts are deftly brought in and out of focus in continuous fashion to give this track a living, breathing pulse.
