4 out of 5

Label: Analogical Force

Produced by: Diego Cadierno

If we’re riding the easy puns on Promising / Youngster’s Bernesga, their second release for AF can probably ditch the latter part of that name: by diving deeper into their thickly layered style but focusing stylistically, P/Y (Diego Cadierno) starts to carve out a more mature and confident sound.

P/Y’s previous Force EP was a tad too generic, sifting through familiar acid and downtempo influences. While those elements are not at all abandoned, Bernesga’s music uses that title as an m.o., but then seeks to warm up the dancefloor with it. That can make the nuance of these tracks hard to dig out at points, as songs end up looping quite a bit in their back halves, but if you let yourself appreciate how densely layered these loops are – how carefully balanced between acid buzz and a house-like thump – it feels okay letting it ride. The EP also sequences this a bit to help you along: both A-side tracks are a bit warmer and grooving and more free-flowing, but ‘the ‘Frozen’ is probably still a bit too long with its looping. That sets you up for B-side Highway’s chillier beat, though, and its prioritization of that; by closer Spooky, the party’s fully on.

An appreciably kind of straightforward release, P/Y belies the youth of their name by being confident in that relative linearity, stuffing some surprising layers into the music along the way.