3 out of 5

Label: Analogical Force

Produced by: Julien Chastagnol

An accurately named EP, and I think that’s what’s bothering me here.

The previous AF Ruby My Dear release to which I listened rather seemed to trigger me due to what I felt like was an extreme emphasis on flashiness, alongside some way-too-clear swipes from Come To Daddy / Windowlicker-era Aphex; so it had the once-common Analogical Force problem of being a bit too slavish in its Rephlex love, and then kind of doubled down by being even more showy about it. Both of those elements have been balanced a bit better here, but that only kind of highlights a core quality that I wasn’t hearing before, thanks to all of the glitz: that RMD just write really satisfyingly predictable tracks. Which sounds wrong when you’re dealing with IDM breakbeats that are, at points – especially the conclusion of opener Calx – mindblowing, but I mean “predictable” more in the sense that every drop, and every “emotional” surge, fits a particular mold: that of the pop world. You skew twee and you get the more bass-driven grooves, like a Postal Service track; you skew towards hyperpop and you get, like, Skrillex. Now, I’m not exactly saying “Ruby My Dear sounds like Postal Service / Skrillex” – not really at all, I’m just trying to pick some extremes that have produced some crowd-pleasing works, and that’s the quality on display here, whether going more precious or going more chaotic. Is crowd pleasing bad? No – and that takes a certain amount of talent. I suppose there’s something that irks me about taking a genre that’s often rather chaotic and more challenging and turning it into something very accessible, but not in a way that I’d say is an actual springboard towards more structurally complex works. If I can keep circling around and around with backhanded compliments, I suppose this means RMD have created a rather unique sound… it just so happens that it’s a combination of things that my brain doesn’t quite want together.

I can wholly admit that those moments when the beat drops on this EP are killer. But I also feel like when the artist isn’t necessarily crafting “the coolest tune of all time” (which is like the m.o. for every track), they feel more real, and more organic – specifically the chill, off-time bomp of Pnt2, or Witch’s soft-hearted approach. Both songs veer towards being BIG or too “pretty”, relatively, but they’re also indicative of the aforementioned better balancing of this set versus Phlegm.

I absolutely cannot fault anyone for digging this. And I sound like a dick for describing music I like as “complicated,” when, firstly, Aphex Twin is a gigantic artist, and, secondly, it’s not like the stuff on this EP doesn’t take a lot of skill to craft and execute so tightly. …However, the straight lifts from glitchy RDJ stuff already sets me on guard, and then turning that into, structurally, radio-ready pop just isn’t what I tune into Analogical Force for. So partly my expectations, partly my bias, but I also think, partly, there’s maybe some relative truths in my blabbering review.