3 out of 5

Label: Rephlex Records

Produced by: Luke Vibert

A fun exploration of grime / dubstep from Luke Vibert becomes a bit too sparse on its B-side; viewed as two singles with some backups, this is an excellent set, but taken as a whole, it’s an idea with some sketches.

The title track on this EP is essentially a throwdown: Luke announcing what his ‘Spac Hand’ variant is going to get up to, and using his usual selection of oddball samples to do so, though mixed with the stankiest of beats. It’s a really enjoyable piece of gamesmanship and swagger, and excellently produced. Followup Psycho uses a string sample from its titular movie to underscore a short and direct attack of beats – aggressive; grooving; and also a lot of fun. This two cuts are as solid and well-rounded productions from Luke as we’ve gotten, zeroed in on a particular style.

Over on the B-side, though, it feels like cutting room beats. They’re good beats – especially Synkik’s doomy stomp – but the two tracks are nowhere near as fleshed out as the A-side, and ultimately just repeat their individual melodies for their runtimes, bringing this EP down from a must-have to being good for a youtube listen every now and then (although, of course, no guarantee those recordings remain up versus a physical item on your shelf…).