3 out of 5

Label: Analogical Force

Produced by: Gregory De Rocher

Lowfish’s Thaw EP is perfectly named: a midway point between its more upbeat, warm synths and pretty punishingly chilly beats – a sweaty night at the club and the brisk chill of a walk home. The four tracks here get plenty of mileage out of that combo, sprinkling a Classics-era bit of Aphex BPM momentum – yes, maybe just the ‘We Are the Music Makers”-style sample makes me think of that – with bouncy, pleasant ambient pop, Lowfish switching up the general register track by track so no song feels like it’s just a copy and paste of another. 

But: these tend towards club jams, prioritizing a steady groove over all else, meaning that after the first few bars gets stuff squared away, we’re pretty much set for each song’s 5+ minute runtime. Combined with a pretty consistent cadence kept across the whole thing, it’s not really an EP of surprises. 

That reliability is quite pleasant though, and its purposeful mood is so excellently effected, it’s easy to allow yourself to get wrapped up in its jams.