Fourth Wave At Juno Download

Review: Fourth Wave move on from their slew of Gerry Read and Presk releases and find a logical next step in the form of Felix Lenferink. Kicking off with "First Bouree", crisp techy rhythms abound before a clean and punchy chord sequence comes in. It's the warbling high-end synth that makes the track though, coming on like a spannered take on G-funk. "Second Bouree" is a much more slippery devil, as a fractured 2-step beat gets intermittently halted for passing guitar drones, only to recommence with subtle pads and tones delicately laid on top. Adeptly landing in the unusual pocket of mutant house music that Fourth Wave seems to treasure, Lenferink could pose another exciting talent, much like his label mates.

Review: It may be early days for Gerry Read, but already his unique tendencies are standing him aside from the rest of the sizable pack. On "We Are" a few grainy samples start a steady house template. After a crafty dropout the tune switches into a distorted piano house jam of the highest order. "Narry" kicks off on a steadier groove; the melodic elements easing smoothly into the melee while the main hook of a bluesy vocal duels with the filter. Unconventional they may be, but with the right room of freaks in front of them there's no reason why these tracks can't be party rockers. Essential.

Review: For this fifth release on his increasingly impressive Fourth Wave label, Tom Kerridge has snaffled some tracks from Presk, a producer who has previously released on Doc Deneeka's Ten Thousand Yen imprint. It seems like a wise move, because "Hesitate", in particular, is excellent. Based around a rolling, midtempo 4/4 garage rhythm, sweet melodies and cut-up old skool vocal stabs, it's the sort of thing that wouldn't sound out of place on Hotflush or Swamp81. Virtual flispide "Kook" is almost as impressive, conjuring a woozy concoction of steppin' beats, dreamy vocals (a la Alison Goldfrapp in her Orbital days, pitched down a notch or two) and tipsy, drunken melodies.