3 out of 5

Label: Club Vision Records

Produced by: Ed DMX

Panic Stations is another great example of Ed Upton curating his approach for a label, sticking somewhat to an old school house sound for Club Vision records. This isn’t far from Ed’s wheelhouse, of course – it is the backing for the vast majority of his work – but Panic Stations sticks pretty rigidly to it, limiting the sounds to minimalist electro grooves and looping rather than innovating. Particular audiences may dig that, but I tend to get restless with such releases, and appreciate them stylistically more than as active listens.

The A-side of this, either way, is still top quality stuff, both tracks adding in some quirky synth layers that add more variety to the songs. The title track in particular, goes a step further, with a pretty wild transition partway through, and a bit of denseness that isn’t as apparent elsewhere.

The B-side is where it falls flat to my ears, though, delivering undeniable quality riffs but, as mentioned, mostly just looping on them, equating the EP to mostly a pretty generic example of what Ed does.