4 out of 5

Label: WeMe Records

Produced by: ?

An insanely fun ride of 16-bit era video game chill, VOR TEX is like a retrospective on Streets of Rage‘s island bop melodies, played with less digital restrictions and an ear for playfulness. This is EOD doing a laidback thing with their IDM skills, sometimes making for rather offhand beats – opener BWARBLER2 is way too short, just an idea of goofiness that drops in and out quickly – or just kind of a mindless groove that’s undeniably infectious, but there just to play you in a cool saunter along the beach.

But: because it is EOD, even these tunes are not immune to getting pushed towards something unexpected: Stupid2’s groove and raw 80s house jam Accident3 both go insane with synth / bass towards the end, and the EP’s middle tracks offer up some prime acid, picking up the mood of the video game stuff but without the bleep-blop drapery. MAUCIOLE, in this vein, is still rather slight, but then URTENLET and HYVISH are kind of lost classics, tickling at 90s Warp vibes and sneaking between the lighter-weight stuff on this set to offer a bit of a counterpoint, perhaps as the sun setting on your jaunt.

A longer or shorter release of such material – material that may seem somewhat quickly or automatically composed as compared to denser EOD works – would perhaps be ineffective or feel bloated. But the seven cuts here hit at just the right length and level of inertia, adding in flavor particular to the artist while also being wholly accessible and fun.