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Apex Twin

Slender Dan orchestrated a superlative existential meditation with ‘Time is Running Out’

With vocals as ethereally magnetic as Cigarettes After Sex atop cinematically intricate Aphex Twin-ESQUE beats and apocalypse-centred lyricism, the latest single, Time is Running Out, by Slender Dan, is the ultimate existential meditation.

With chilling vocal samples alluding to how our child-like proclivities are the main reason behind our destructive tendencies that have led the earth to the point of collapse, there’s no exaggerating the sombreness of the dream-like Avant-Garde score. Yet, Slender Dan simultaneously succeeded in creating a tranquil feat of electronic ambience that will quell your end-of-days fears.

The striking mindfulness within the layers of lush reverb allows the tonally transcendent single to unravel as one of the superlative feats of post-modernism you could add to your playlists.

The Nashville-residing duo comprising Heather Dickinson (vox, keys, guitar, bass), and Patrick Ahern (drums, production, vox) debuted their first EP on KEXP in 2021 and has had its fair share of successes since. Time is Running Out is just one of the singles to feature on the forthcoming LP, GESTALT. In their own words, here is what it traverses:

“GESTALT is a 1 hour long, 19 track, avant-garde electronic album. With 13 songs and 6 interludes, Slender Dan presents a sobering critique of modern Orwellian forces- commenting on such topics as propaganda, censorship, the lack of consensus on truth, and the attempt to remain sane in the midst of insane times.”

Time is Running Out will officially release on March 2nd. Hear the official audio on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Lux Kiddo has released his harsh electronic hit, Robot Curmudgeon 

With percussive inspiration from the likes of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, Lux Kiddo’s latest harsh electronica mix, Robot Curmudgeon, flows with an ensnaring tempo and an even more magnetic pull through the progressive influence of Infected Mushroom.

The Brooklyn-born, Phoenix-based experimental artist has worked as a sound tech and musician since the relocation from his home town; in 2020, he dropped his debut album Cityscapes. Now that dancefloors are back open, we’re sure they will be eager to hear more of his uniquely explorative style that uses familiar industrial/EBM elements with refreshing melodic flair.

Robot Curmudgeon was released on August 5th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jakliu – Frustration, stagnation, isolation, and loneliness with “CATSPIT”

Jakliu

Hot on the heels of his recent remix of Irish electropop artist Ae Mak’s ‘Jamie’ comes this, Jakliu’s debut single ‘CATSPIT’. Gentle, pulled-back vocals mixed with repeating drone notes and electronic drum loops, ‘CATSPIT’ is a mix of ambient, electropop, and electronica, taking in later Radiohead and Thom Yorke’s solo work, bits of the Aphex Twin, Dave Monolith, Caribou, Beatwife, Luke Vibert, and the whole gamut of Warp and Rephlex records stablemates.

It’s chilled and mellow yet challenging and forthright, inspired by themes of stagnation and isolation and Jakliu’s frustration at the mediocrity of everyday life and at the slow decline of creativity and arts in a world fixated on cheap, easy fame and fleeting Social Media celebrity.

You can check out Jakliu on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes