4 out of 5

Label: Brainfeeder

Produced by: Ross From Friends

More slick funk from the Brainfeeder imprint, spiraling through layered, downtempo IDM and sample heavy dance floor grooves and back again.  Opener Don’t Wake Dad sets the general tone with some electronic blips over a hazy, r and b beat, but the approach appreciably varies just enough from track to track, track 2’s John Cage the most impressive application of the midh-mash, as Ross (aka Felix James Clary Weatherall) morphs his samples up and down the register, allowing for elements to phase out before organically winding them back in.  This contrasts the EP’s weakest offering, There’s A Hole In My Heart, which comes across as somewhat standard house – smooth and precise and mesmerizing, but lacking in that Brainfeeder-y sense of out-there nuance – until March closes things down back on top, re-energized back into the realm of IDW-tinged stutters and refined, passionate-but-not-cheeky danceable grooves.

At four tracks and about 25 minutes, Ross gives himself plenty of room to breathe on each track, which is for the best, slowly urging his creations to where they want to go instead of trying too hard to force a vibe on us.  On the way, we get another varied, inventive release that should please Brainfeeder fans and Ross From Friends followers.